


Picking Up the Pieces

by Alltimereading



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Age Regression/De-Aging, Amnesia, Amnesiac Loki, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avengers Family, Bathing/Washing, Between Avengers (2012) and Thor: The Dark World, Big Brother Thor (Marvel), Brainwashed Loki (Marvel), Broken Bones, Brother Feels, Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Captivity, Caretakers - Freeform, Caretaking, Comfort/Angst, Confused Loki (Marvel), Crying, Crying Loki (Marvel), Diapers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Feeding, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forced Bonding, Gen, Hurt Loki, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki Angst, Loki Feels, Loki Has Issues, Loki Needs a Hug, Memory Loss, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Mind Manipulation, Mute Loki, Mute Loki (Marvel), Nightmares, Non-sexual, Pacifiers, Pain, Panic Attacks, Poor Loki, Protective Avengers, Protective Thor, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Recovery, Sad Loki, Self Confidence Issues, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Team Bonding, Tickling, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Torture, Trauma, Trust Issues, bottle feeding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 12:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7801183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alltimereading/pseuds/Alltimereading
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Thor finds Loki in Vanaheim, broken and tortured, he takes him to the Avengers. He needs help to take care of Loki, who now has a mind like a child and doesn't remember anything at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What To Do

**Author's Note:**

> I love fics about angsty, broken Loki and his protective big brother, but don't think there's enough of them. So I'm making my own!  
> Hope you enjoy and please let me know if there's something wrong with my English, which is my second language.  
> PLEASE - If you don't like this, don't read!

He found him. Thor finally found his brother, lost and stranded in Vanaheim. He'd searched for him everywhere, after having found out he had disappeared from prison.

But Loki was different. Mentally broken, Thor couldn't keep him in Asgard, though everything was a misunderstanding and Loki was innocent, Loki nor their people wouldn't be ready to face each other. But where else should he take? Thor had no other choice than Midgard. He didn't know how his friends would take it, but he would had to try.

Loki lay on the bed. He had been alseep since he got him back, which were a few hours, so maybe he would awake soon. Thor sat down next to him and took a minute to enjoy the peaceful look on his face. He knew the silence soon would be broken, but he had to keep him awake for the travel to Midgard.

He ran his fingers through his brother's hair, trying to wake him. Loki stirred a bit, but fell asleep again.

"Brother," said Thor, "It is time for you to awake." while he stroked a hand over Loki's cheek.

Yawning and stretching, Loki opened his eyes. When it came to him, he still was tired, he began crying. Thor stood, "Oh, brother" he said, lifting him up in his arms. Walked around a little in the bedroom. He swayed and shushed him, hoping he could get him to calm down a bit. "Shh brother, it is alright. You're alright! I know, I know, you are tired! I know!" He had to be careful. When he found Loki in Vanaheim, he babbled so Thor guessed he could not speak and tried to stand on his own legs, which he couldn't neither.  
When he was a little calmer, Thor laid him back down. He never got the chance to change Loki into something more comfortable, than the destroyed, dirty clothes he had on. So he took some pants and a shirt and dressed him.

After that he carried him out of the room, to meet with their mother in the hall.

"Are you ready, my sons?" said Frigga, with a sad smile.

"Aye, that we are mother. I'll thank you for doing this!"

"It's okay, I just hope he get's better. And I'm sure you will protect him"

"I will! I promise you, mother!"

"I have packed what I believe you will need" she said, giving his son a bag.

Which he accepted, "And you won't tell Father anything?"

She shook her head, "I think that is for the best. He has enough to worry about, as it is"

He nodded, then took her hand, so she could use her magic to send them to Midgard.

"We will meet again" were the last words he heard, before they ended up in New York.

 

At least he could see Stark Tower, from where he stood.

He felt Loki become more and more fussy, but after that trip, he understood why. He too felt at little strange. Thor wasn't used to travel by magic. He stroke his hand up and down Loki's back, to calm him.

"It's over brother! You can sleep now" he said, while walking towards the tower.

Loki settled down a bit, rested his head against Thor's shoulder and rubbed his sleepy eyes. Tears welled in his eyes. He was still so tired, he couldn't possibly fall asleep. He did not know where he was nor where he would be taken and that made him uneasy. How could he sleep in this new place. Why was he even here, anyway. All he kind of could remember, was darkness. And here it was so bright, it hurt his eyes.

He whined and now Thor could tell he was getting cranky, cause of the lack of sleep. He would probably be hungry soon too. He thought of using Mjolnir to make it go faster, but decided not to, for Loki's sake. So he tried to hurry up. The faster they were at Stark Tower, the easier it would be for him to take care of his brother.

 

It was pretty quiet in the tower. Tony was in his lab and did whatever he did, Steve was at the gym, training, Bruce was reading in the living room and Clint and Natasha were out on a mission.

"Sir"

"What is it, JARVIS?" questioned Tony.

"I must make you aware, that Mr. Odinson is in the lobby right now and is asking to be let in"

"Alright, let him in JARVIS"

 

Thor stood and bounced Loki in his arms, waiting for JARVIS to confirm whether he was welcome or not. He could tell his brother was becoming really restless right now.  
When the robotic butler's voice came back, was the door unlocked and in he went.  
The first person he saw was Banner, sitting on the couch. Bruce put the book he was reading away, when their eyes met.

"Thor. That's a surprise," Bruce got up, "I didn't expect to see y.." He stopped when he saw, that the person Thor was holding, was Loki.

"Friend Banner, I can explain! Please, you must remain calm" while backing away with Loki.

"Thor, buddy. Nice finally seing you! You want a drink?" in came Tony, not even noticing the tension between Bruce and Thor. Bruce stared in disbelief at Loki, not certain whether the hulk would come out, or not. Loki didn't notice the change in company around him. With Loki's chest against Thor's, his back was turned to Bruce and Tony's direction.

When no answer came, Tony turned to see the other two staring at each other. "What's going on gu.. Holy shit!" he didn't believe his eyes, when he saw Loki, right here in his own tower! Were they serious, he thought.

"Please Stark, I can explain! But before I do, will you get Dr. Banner out of here? It's not that I don't trust him. But Loki is in a condition, where I prefer him calm!" begged Thor.

"What are you talking about, Thor?"

"Please, friend" he begged.

Oh no, he used that word! Tony looked skeptical, but turned to Bruce, "Bruce?"

He nodded, "Yeah, alright. Fine" Bruce said, then walked out of the room, looking back at Loki, not understanding what was going on.

"Okay Thor, what going on? Why is Loki here? And in my home?" Tony was confused like Bruce, but more frustrated.

"I did not have elsewhere to take him, Stark. And he really needs to be taken care of."

"What about Asvard, As-Asnard. Whatever you're calling it?"

"Asgard. I would love to, but I don't think my brother in his condition, is ready to face our people. Not after everything that happened."

"Wait a minute. Condition? What kind of condition??"

"Loki.. Is not. He is not himself.."

"What do you mean 'not himself'?" Tony just became more confused.

"He does not remember anything, at all. He can neither speak nor walk. He doesn't remember me and he didn't even react to our mother."

Now Tony didn't believe his own ears, "Jeez, what happened to him?" he asked.

"I am not completely sure. But I found him in Vanaheim, a terrible place! I searched for him, when he was abducted from his cell. Our father thought he had escaped. But we soon found out, that it wasn't the truth. Heimdall sensed something was wrong. He could feel Loki, but not see him. I felt something was wrong, so I went out, looking for him. I soon found out that something was wrong with him. Then I took him to our mother. But unfortunately, couldn't her magic do anything for him." Thor explained.

 

Loki became more and more cranky. The only thing he understood, was that there were someone talking. Who it was and what they talked about, didn't he know. But he had been in the same position too long now. He let out a wail.

Both Thor and Tony reacted.  
'That was new', Tony thought.  
Thor repositioned him and looked at Tony, "Stark, I know how confused you must be right now. And I will explain, but can I take care of my brother first?"

"Ye-yeah, okay buddy" no reason to make it more difficult for Thor. It looked like he had enough to deal with, now that Loki was crying full time in frustration.

"I hope it's not too much to ask for, Stark. But can I get you to find something for my brother to eat? He hasn't eaten in a long time."

Without answering, Tony hurried to the kitchen. He wasn't at all sure, what he should be looking for. He decided to just pick something, so he took some bread and an apple. After cutting the apple, he went back to give Thor the food and stepped back to observe it all. He didn't know what else to do.

Thor sat on the couch, with Loki in his lap. He put him into a sitting position and took some bread to his mouth. Loki didn't recognize what was been brought to his mouth nor was he interested. He pulled away with his head, still crying his eyes out.

"Loki, please!" Thor said. Tony noticed he was concerned for his brother, but was getting frustrated himself.

Clearing his throat to get the Thunder God's attention, "Try some apple, Thor" he suggested.

Thor took a piece and put it to Loki's mouth. When the apple was inside his mouth, he kept crying and spat it out.

Thor was now getting irritated. Not at Loki, but at himself, for not being able to help his crying brother. Then he rememered the bag their mother had packed. He really hoped there was something in there, he could use.  
He leaned forward to he could see what their mother had packed for them. An infant bottle was found, with something inside, that looked like milk. Thor frowned. Then again, who knew how long it had been, since Loki had eaten something. And without that knowledge, other than milk would be too heavy for his stomach.  
He just hoped, Loki would take the bottle, so he could get something, anything in him. Thor then turned his attention back to his wailing brother.

 

"Brother, I have something for you" he encouraged, laying Loki down in the crook of his arm, trying to get the bottle nipple into Loki's mouth, but Loki just tried to push away from Thor. But with such a weak body, Thor tried again. When Loki noticed something in his mouth, he closed it. Tongue worked around a bit, tried to find out what to do. When he did find out, he suckled the bottle down as if his life depended on it.

Tony's ears couldn't be more happy for the silence there now was like greetings to them.

Looking up, Thor smiled sadly, "I am sorry, my friend!"

That was something Tony wasn't prepared to hear. He didn't know what to answer to t. It wasn't like it was his fault, "Oh, uhm. It's totally fine, Thor. Don't worry about it!"

"What's going on here?" They turned.

"Uh hey Cap, what's up?"

Sighing, Steve then said, "Really Tony. 'What's up'? What was that noise? Sounded like somebody was being killed."

"What? There was no noise?" asked Tony innocently.

"Don't test me, Stark" Steve said irritated.

"Is that a threat, old man?" Tony challenged, smiling.

"You're not funny" while rolling his eyes.

"I am sorry friend Rogers. It was my brother, he's.."

"Wait.. That's Loki??" Steve asked.

"That's what he's saying, isn't it?" Tony teased.

When Loki was finished with the bottle, Thor then took the nipple out of his mouth. With some food in his stomach, Thor kept Loki in the crook of his arm, while talking sweetly to him.  
However, he could see Loki began being restless again. He thought, he probably just was tired. But Loki soon began to cry again. A more painful cry this time.

"What's the matter with him now?" Tony freaked.

"I, I don't know. He could be tired, I'm not sure though!" Thor said, looking like a kicked puppy.  
"It's okay brother! It's okay, shh shhh!" he tried to comfort him, with rocking him in his arms.

Steve didn't feel comfortable with this at all, he didn't know what had happened, "Uhm, I'll get Bruce!" rushing out.

 

"Wait no, Cap! .. Dammit, Thor, I don't like this! Will you do something?" panicked Tony.

Thor bent down, until their foreheads touched, "Brother please, please! Shhh it's okay!" he comforted.

Steve returned with Bruce, who looked more relaxed than before.

"Steve explained that he just began crying. But what happened?" Bruce said, taking up his doctor facade.

"Nothing happened, my friend! He was finished eating, that's all" Thor said, feeling guilty for not observing better.

"Don't worry Thor. I'm sure he'll be okay! You said, he was finished eating? What did he eat?"

"He wouldn't take any other food, also because it's been a long time, since he last had eaten. So I gave him a bottle, with what I believe was milk, something our mother had packed. I didn't know it would make him miserable! I should have checked! I.."

"Hey Thor, slow down! It's okay, I don't think it was the milk's fault!" Bruce said.

Tony got up and took a hold of the bottle, "Yeah, it's definitely milk! Perhaps it was too much for him? Maybe you guys have really yucky milk in Ascard.."

Bruce ignored him, thinking, "You said, that he hadn't eaten in a long time?"

Thor nodded.

"Then, did you heat it?"

"Should I have done that?" Thor asked with a concerned look on face.

"Well, if he hadn't had anything in a long time, it sometimes can be too much for the stomach if the milk was too cold. Then it's like the stomach gets surprised and curls itself together. And that is what's causing the pain" Bruce said.

Thor looked at Loki, "Then what can I do?"

"There's not much you can do now, Thor. The pain will disappear soon, but if I were you, I would heat his milk from now on!"

Still wailing, Thor took Loki over his shoulder, got up from the couch and walked around the room a little. Swayed, bounced and shushed him, he tried to get him to calm down.

It was a little awkward for the others.. They stood there and watched the former war criminal, getting carried around like a child by his thunder brother. What had happened to him? They were curious to know!

"Has Thor explained anything yet?" Bruce asked.

"Only that he had found Loki in Varnenhaim.. Or something like that. He believes he has been tortured. By whom, I don't know" explained Tony.

After a while, Loki finally calmed down. And he was a mess.. Thor laid him down in this arm again, using his own cape to wipe his face. Then he lifted him back up, straightened his clothes, just stood and held him.  
Sniffled, Loki took a moment to look around, finally discovering the three figures who looked at him.  
He stared back with big curious eyes, not knowing what else to do.

"Uh, there were people, huh Loki" Thor said, straightened brother's hair too and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

"Uhm, Thor? Don't you think he can recognize us?" Steve asked a little anxious.

"Unfortunately not, I'm afraid. He does not remember anyone or anything. Not even me, my friend" he answered sadly. Smiling, when he saw Loki yawning. All those tears really had exhausted him. While he rubbed his eyes, Thor asked, "My friends, is there a room where I could put my brother down for a nap?"

"Sure, he can even get his own room!" suggested Tony.

"No, I'd rather have him in the same as I, if that's possible"

"Well, that can be arranged too! This way."

"Thank you, my friend" Thor said and followed Tony, the other two right behind them.

 

The room had plenty of space. And a giant masterbed, for Thor and Loki to share.  
That's exactly what he'd wanted. Because of Loki's condition, they had to share the bed.  
His friend Stark really could provide everything. He was so thankful.

 

"Thank you, friends!" he said gratefully.

"No problems, Thor! Come to me if you need anything!" Tony said leaving, Steve too.  
Bruce stayed.

"If you want, Thor. I could always do a check-up on him."

"That sounds great, friend Banner" he said, while he laid Loki down on the bed, "Maybe we can do that later, when Loki awakens?"

"Of course" Bruce smiled and looked down at Loki, who was now sleeping peacefully.

Thor smiled too. He was so grateful to his friends, for taking this experience so nicely. He was glad he had them. However, there was also the two assassins. Would they take it, just as nicely?


	2. Discovering the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard to write. I kept hating it! So I hope you like it!  
> Again, don't hesitate to tell me, if you see any mistakes!

"Okay Thor, now that we kinda know what happened. Can you please explain to us what your plan is and what you're going to do?" Steve asked, when Thor and Bruce came back to the living room.

"I need your help with taking care of my brother! I want to find out who did this to him, but first we have to 'rebuild' him!" said Thor, with anger in his eyes.

"If that's even possible!" hesitated Bruce.

The others stared at him.

"Well, all I'm saying is, he looks pretty messed up, no offense Thor!"

Thor frowned, "None taken.."

Tony then asked his, "So what are we gonna do? It would be almost impossible to hide him! What if SHIELD finds out he's back here, on earth I mean?"

"I will not let SHIELD take my brother back to their prison, to be treated like som kind of animal!" growled Thor.

"Hey, it's just a fact! Cause I don't really think our friend Fury would believe our story, even if we told him our side of it"

"I'm gonna regret saying this, but I actually agree with Tony! Fury is the kind of man, who acts before he asks" sighed Steve.

Tony just stared at Steve, with his mouth hanging open, "What do you mean by that?"

"We have another problem" interrupted Bruce.

They looked at him, "And that is?", Steve asked.

Thor completed the interrupting, "Barton and Romanova.."

Silence filled the room. None of them knew what to say about that.

"Then we just have to explain the situation to them!" Tony was the first one to break the silence.

"And how would you manage to complete your explanation to them, without one of them killing you?" inquired Steve

"Come on, don't you think they at least would let me finish?" he smiled.

"It's not that easy Tony. You know how Clint feels about Loki and the whole mind controlling experience" this time it was Bruce who spoke.

Silence flew again through the room.

"Then we just have to show them.." Tony whispered.

"Are you crazy?" Steve shouted, "As soon as Clint sees Loki, he'll take an arrow and try to shoot his eye out!" He couldn't believe, how Tony, the so called genius, could come up with something so ridiculous.

"Well, that might be our best option for now." Bruce admitted.

Steve raised an eyebrow, "Get Clint to shoot an eye out on Loki?"

Bruce looked at Steve, "No..? Showing Loki to them. No weapons, no empty words. We get them to promise us they'll listen, before they'll rush themselves into any conclusions. What do you think about that idea, Thor?" he turned to him, but Thor was staring into space, "Thor?"

"Hmm? I am sorry Banner. I'm worried about my brother!"

Bruce smiled, "I understand, Thor. Things will get better and we're here for you!"

 

"Look who's awake" beamed Thor, while he carried Loki, who was rubbing his eyes, back to the others.

"Wow, that must have been a nice nap, buddy. You slept for almost 3 hours!" Bruce said and smiled gently.

"He must be hungry too" guessed Tony, from the other side of the room. He was playing with some technology of his.

"That he might! Thor, you can just give him some milk. Just remember to heat it up and if I were you, I would give him half a bottle, as he is still not used to get food in his stomach. Even if it is only milk. So give him enough food, enough times a day, but not too much to upset his stomach" informed Bruce.

"Understood. Thank you Banner!" said Thor gratefully.

Steve went towards the kitchen with the bottle, "I can see your arms are busy, so I'll heat up some milk for you."

Thor smiled, went to the couch and sat down and adjusted Loki on his lap, until he was comfortable. Loki probably didn't know, what was going to happen now. Of course not, thought Thor. He wasn't used to this position enough, to know it meant food.

Thor sat quietly there and rocked him a bit. Loki's eyes suddenly became sleepy again and he then began to drop off a bit.

 

Everything went dark.

Except for a throne, which was at the end of a long room. It looked so familiar! As if he had been there before. That must have been the only place he could recognize, so far. Some shadows stood near it, but they were blurry and too far away to be identified. It felt like one of the figures talked and laughed to him. The laugh was dark and deep. He didn't like it! He felt very uneasy in this place. He didn't knew why. He had to get a away! He missed the warm and gentle voice, that had been around him lately.  
'Late'  
'Come'

'Care'  
'Kill'

'Kill'  
'Kill'

'Kill'  
'Kill'

 

"Loki? Hey, easy brother! Come on, breathe with me!"

Loki opened his eyes as he breathed heavily. Thor and Bruce stood over him, both looking worried.  
Tears running down his cheeks, while Thor stroked his fingers through his hair.

Thor wiped the tears away with his thumb, "What's that all about, huh? What's with the tears all of sudden?" He, of course, didn't expect a answer, so he just leaned forward and placed a kiss on Loki's forehead and then the bridge of his nose.

Steve soon stood beside the couch, gave the bottle to Thor and went out, considered it soon was time for dinner.

"You're okay, brother. Shh, I'm sorry I woke you up, but I've got some yummy milk for you" Thor said and put the nipple in his mouth.

At first it looked like Loki had woken some appetite, but as fast as the bottle came into his mouth, the faster came it out again, while Loki let out a wail.

"Loki? Come on. See, it's milk! You'll love it!" Thor tried again to encourage him.

"He's afraid Thor" said Bruce. Getting Thor's attention, he continued, "He remembers the last time he drank from the bottle, it caused him pain. That's why he's skeptical about it."

Now Thor understood. He felt like the worst brother ever, "There is nothing to be afraid of Loki, last time was a mistake. That won't happen again!" he pushed the bottle back against Loki's lips, but Loki wouldn't have any of that as he cried, while he pushed himself away from Thor.

Observed, Bruce bent down to them, "Maybe you should wait for later, Thor! I don't think he wants to take it right now. Besides, I really want to do the examination."

Thor nodded, "Aye" he said and laid Loki on the couch.

Thor sat himself by his brothers head, held Loki's hands, while Bruce got his bag with supplies, so they could get started.  
Bruce pushed Loki's shirt up, wanted to feel on his stomach. He had to take a deep breath, though. On Loki's stomach, some big deep cuts could be seen, "Uhm Thor? Why haven't you told me about those?" he asked, while pointing at the scars.

"Our mother has already taken care of them, though they aren't gone, they are slowly healing" said Thor.

"You could at least have mentioned them!" he breathed out and closed his eyes, trying so hard to keep the other guy calm!

"I told you that he had been tortured" Thor explained with a saddened expression.

"Yeah, but.." Dammit, if he found those who were responsible.. He would rip them to pieces! Yeah, the old Loki was an ass! But, no one deserved this.

"Are you alright, Dr. Banner?" said Thor worried.

Tony who were still present, heard the conversation and reacted quickly, "JARVIS, get me the suit!!" he muttered.

When the clothes began tearing, Bruce was slowly backing away. He hid his face, trying really hard to get the other guy under control.

"NOW JARVIS!" Tony shouted, an armour flying through the wall. Tony rushed into his armour. He was about to fire at Hulk, when he heard a loud growl, then felt an arm smashed him hard into the wall. Falling to the ground, he now saw the angry Hulk, who stood between him and Thor.  
When Hulk turned to Thor, he let out a roar when he saw Loki.

The view was soon blocked by Thor. He looked threatening at Hulk, "You shall not hurt him, Banner!" he warned.

When Hulk ran towards them, Thor held out his hand, called Mjolnir.  
As it came flying up through the floor, into his hand, he swung his arm backwards and threw the hammer at Hulk, smashing him out of the window.

Tony got up, "What the hell, Thor?? What is it you don't understand about an 'expensive tower'?" he inquired annoyed.

He bowed his head a little, "That's what you are worried about, Stark?" he went back to Loki and scooped him up into his arms. "That was scary, wasn't it brother?" how he wished he could do more for him.

"How is he?" Tony hurried over. Concerned for Loki. Thinking, he must have had the world's biggest scare! No, not really. Loki just held onto Thor with one hand, looking as innocent as if he didn't understand what was going on. Well, maybe he didn't understand. If he couldn't remember anything, then he would also have forgotten Hulk, right?

"I believe he's alright!" Thor said, looking Loki over.

Hearing a beeping sound, Tony reacted to an incoming call through the armour, "Oh man, it's Fury!" he told Thor.

He accepted the call, "Hey Fury, long time, no see! What's up?" he grinned.

"Drop the act, Stark! Would you mind telling me, why there's been an alarm, about Dr. Banner hulking out in the city?" he yelled.

"Uhm, of course! I can come back later, when I've got a suitable answer!"

Fury wasn't satisfied with that comment, "You don't want to piss me off right now Stark! I've got the commander on my neck, because I can't seem to keep the Avengers under control!" he growled.

'He's not in a good mood' he signaled to Thor.

"Are you even listening, Stark?" Nick scowled.

"Ah, yes! I am!"

"Then I order you, Thor & Rogers to stop Banner!"

"Wait, how do you know Thor is here?" he continued.

"Well, if Thor's the only one that has a hammer exactly like his, then it's just a guess."

Oh.. 'Get your hammer, now!' he hissed. Thor then called Mjolnir to him.

"Then it's sorted. I expect you to get things under control, very soon! Fury's out." Fury hang up.

Tony ran a hand over his face, could it be any worse, "Fury wants us out. We have to find Rogers"

"But what about my brother?" asked Thor. How would they be able to look after Banner, in the city and with Loki?

"Jeez Thor, I don't know! But we kind of have to, Fury's orders" Tony looked at Loki for at bit, "Take him with us?"

"What?"

"You heard me! We have no other choice." When Thor didn't move, he sighed, "You know what, never mind! I'll handle it myself!" Tony told him and flew out of the building.

He was at a loss. Should Thor take Loki with him? He didn't really had a choice. He dared not to risk Loki's safety, by leaving him to himself. With Mjolnir in one hand and Loki in the other, he made up his mind and flew after Stark.

 

Tony searched between the buildings, while Thor had landed on a roof, getting a better view over the city.

"Stark, have you found him?"

"Nah, not yet. Unbelievable, how can such a big guy be so hard to find?" said Tony, flying through the city. Damn, he understood why Bruce had lost control. Things were a little fucked up, he almost felt sympathy for Loki. Hell, he felt like an ass! Nobody deserved to be tortured like that!  
Tony hadn't forgiven him for what he did. But he had lost all his hate, when he saw Loki so weak and helpless. It was unbearable to witness, how much the crazy and mad psychopath had changed.  
Tony could never imagine how it would be to be trapped inside yourself. Unable to move, eat or anything. But it sure as hell would be terrifying.

"Maybe he has changed back into Banner?" he heard Thor ask.

"Just keep looking!" he hissed. Damn, he was getting really irritated, "Sorry Thor! Are you two okay up there, pal?"

"We are fine, Stark!" Thor answered, looking down at his brother in his arms, who had half-lidded eyes.

"I'm gonna take another round, around the city." Tony responded.

So peaceful it was here on Midgard, Thor thought while watching the city. A much better choice for Loki to start over with. He closed his eyes, finally getting a moment's peace to relax. Taking in the fresh air, he slowly breathe out again. He missed being in Asgard, though! Opening his eyes, he looked back down at Loki. 'Sleeping again?' he thought, smiling gently. He then rested his cheek on Loki's head, so he could listen to his brother's slowly breathing. As long as Thor were Loki's brother and now caretaker,nobody was allowed to touch him.

"Hey Thor, you're busy?" interrupted Tony.

Thor frowned, "What do you mean, Stark?"

"Well, I've got somebody here, I would like you to meet!"

Thor looked down on the streets. He saw Tony fly towards him, followed by the angry Hulk.

"Can you introduce him for your hammer? begged Tony.

Understanding, he replied, "Of course, friend Stark." Getting Mjolnir, he jumped down the building, careful not to frighten his brother.

Tony flew past him, when Thor landed, taking Loki with him.

Now that Thor had his hands free, he raised his hammer with full force.  
Punched hard in the jaw, Hulk fell back. Only to become more furious.

"Got any better ideas, Thor?" Tony said.

Hulk roared and jumped at Thor, smashing him into the ground. Still holding Loki in one arm, Tony fired at Hulk only to get his attention. "Uh uh!", he repented. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.

Loki (full awake), made a gurgling sound. 'Crap', Tony stepped back. He saw Hulk looked at Loki, "Come on Banner! Change back!" he commanded. He didn't know what else to do and it sure as hell didn't get any funnier, when Hulk began to get closer.  
He held up his hand, ready to fire, "Don't make me do this, Banner! You're gonna regret it, if you're hurting him." Stepping back, he added, "Look at him." Showing Loki, "He's not what he was before!"  
Seeing Hulk's expression loosen, Tony stopped completely, letting Hulk get closer.

Lying on the ground, Thor observed it all, "Stark? No, what are you doing?" he panicked.

"Don't worry, Thor. I've got it all under control." Or so he hoped! Tony held his breath, "That's it yeah! Easy now." he whispered to Hulk, but almost more to himself.

Hulk lifted his hand and carefully laid his giant hand on Loki's head. Which soon shrank back into Bruce's hand.

Sighing in relief, Tony offered Bruce a coat and asked, "You okay there, Brucie?" Bruce smiled warmly in respond and ruffled Loki's hair.

Thor then got up and went over to the others. Forcefully taking his brother from Tony, he said threateningly, "Take this as a warning, Stark! If you ever endanger my brother's life like that again. I don't know what I will do!" he glared at Tony with gloomy eyes, "Understood?"

 

Taking in Thor's reaction, he thought about what to say, without pissing off the protective Thunder God brother any further. 'Besides' he thought, he couldn't stand any more problems, at the moment, "Yeah, fine. Of course! Won't do it again." he promised.

Satisfied , Thor walked away. Followed by Bruce and then Tony.

 

Back to the tower stood an impatient Steve and waited for them.  
"An hour!" he said, when he saw them. They looked at each other, not knowing what the captain was talking about. Steve, of course, didn't expect so, "I wasn't even gone for an hour! And suddenly I come back to an empty tower and a comrade who was in process of destroying the city!"

Tony hesitated, "Yeah, we kinda had a Hulk problem."

Sighing, "Thanks Tony! I hadn't noticed." he told, referring to the unclothed Bruce, who only wore a jacket. "Do you mind telling me what happened?"

With Thor, who was whispering calming words to Loki, still pretty upset with him and Bruce in nothing but a coat, Tony decided to take it upon himself.  
"Come on Cap, does that really matter?"

"Yes, it does actually, Tony. You're always so reckless! I thought we were a team! If something happens, we call each other!" he scolded.

"Back off, Cap! We handled it. I had everything under control."

Steve lifted his eyebrows, he said, "Oh you had everything under control? So what? Now you're the leader of this team now? You don't have what it takes." he challenged.

"We did it without you, didn't we?" Tony replied.

Closed his mouth and opened it again, Steve spoke, "So it seems." then walked away.

With the awkward silence, they all went inside the tower.

 

Steve stood in the kitchen and prepared some food, Bruce got some clothes, while Tony sat on the couch, beside Thor and Loki. But Bruce came back, before Tony had any chance to start a conversation.

"If it's okay with you Thor, I would like to complete the examination." Bruce suggested.

"Certainly!" This time he laid Loki down on his lap.

From the abandoned bag, Bruce grabbed a tongue depressor, looked at Thor, "Just gonna check his troat." Thor nodded. Bruce held Loki's chin to open his mouth, so he could have a look. "Nothing to be afraid of, buddy! Let me see if everything is fine, okay? I promise I'll be quick." He pressed the item down at Loki's tongue, which caused Loki to jerk a little. He held up a little flashlight, "Shh, it's alright! It looks a little sore, but that's probably from all the crying." he mentioned aloud, for all to hear. "Otherwise it looks fine. Good job, buddy!" he praised Loki, then stroked his arm.  
Bruce then took the otoscope, to check his ears. But when he poked the object into the first ear, pulled Loki his head back by the sudden feeling of something in his ear.

His hand found its way up to rub at his ear, but Thor immediately took a hold on Loki's arms, so Banner could continue. Loki then whined, when he felt the object was back in his ear, "It is alright, brother! You are so good. It is over soon. Shhh, you will be fine!" Thor hushed.

He let out a cry, when he felt Bruce had moved to his other ear. Bruce tried to hurry up a bit. But it began to be difficult, when Loki started struggling and kicking his legs. Sure, it wasn't impossible, considering he still was weak. It was a challenge, though! "Yeah, I know. I'm such a mean doctor, huh Loki?" comforted Bruce.

Seing the difficulty Thor and Bruce had with Loki, Tony decided to interfere. He sat down next to Thor and looked over the sobbing Loki, "Hey Lokes, see what I have here" he said, while taking his phone out of his pocket. He waited until he got Loki's attention, to show him all the apps and videos the phone had. Loki had opened his eyes and was now watching all the colors and movements, when Tony played with the phone.

Now that Loki lay still, Bruce took his opportunity to finish the task. 'Nothing to find in the ears' he noted.

When Tony noticed Bruce was done, he straightened up and put the phone back into his pocket, "It's all about distraction!" he said and looked at Thor and Bruce.

"How did you do that? I didn't know you were good with 'kids'." turning around, they saw Steve standing in the doorway.

Putting a hand on his chest, he pretended to be hurt, "Wow, thanks for the confidence, Rogers."

Steve chuckled, "Whatever! You're welcome, Stark." He smiled and went back to the kitchen. 'Good, he wasn't upset' thought Tony.

Bruce looked at Tony, "Thanks Tony!"

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Yeah, yeah!" and got back to work himself.

Bruce then took up a stethoscope from the bag. He placed the one end round his head, into his ears and took a hold of the other end, pushed up his patient's shirt and placed the little metal plate onto Loki's chest, causing Loki to shiver, "I know. It's cold, huh?"  
Listening to his heart, he found nothing wrong with Loki's breathing sounds nor the beat of his heart.

He pulled out the stethoscope and positioned his hands on Loki's stomach, pressing a little. He pulled a strange look on his face. Thor noticed, "What's wrong Dr. Banner?"  
Bruce didn't answer, instead he kept feeling Loki on the stomach, his sides and ribs.  
He grimaced, "Thor, would you mind taking Loki to my office?"

Thor didn't have the chance to answer, as Bruce was already gone. The behavior made Thor anxious, but he went after Bruce, causing Tony to follow, "What's going on, Bruce?" Tony breathed, leaning himself against the doorframe.

"Put him here, Thor" Bruce said, referring to an examination table under an x-ray machine .

Thor stepped forward and laid Loki down on the table.

Bruce took his gloves on and ordered, "Now, take a hold of his arms."

Thor did as told, but he didn't understand why Bruce couldn't just tell them what was wrong? He placed a kiss on Loki's cheek, who looked at him. Thor then closed his eyes. He didn't know why, though. He had a feeling, he wouldn't like what was coming next.

Bruce pulled the x-ray generator over Loki, who eyed it warily. The rumbling sound it made when the machine started, caused Loki to burst into tears. He certainly did not like being under it.  
Thor shushed him, when Loki started to choke and cough. Thor had never seen his brother so afraid. Loki was directly scared out of his mind.

Turning off the machine when the photos were taken, Bruce took a look at the them and cursed for himself, "Dammit!"

Both Tony and Thor looked at him, "Banner, will you tell us what's happening already??" Thor demanded, running his fingers through Loki's hair, calming him.

He knew it, Bruce closed his eyes, "Well" he said, rubbing his forehead, while taking in a deep breath, "Now we know why Loki can't walk or stand. Hell, even sit by himself. All his bones has been broken several times!"  
Looking at their shocked expressions, Bruce didn't know how neither Thor nor Tony would react.

"WHAT?" roared Thor.

Tony exhaled, "Wait a minute. How can that even happen?"

Bruce took off his glasses, "If bones gets broken as many times as Loki's has. They become more weak. Especially if they don't get enough time to heal! Right now, are Loki's bones as strong as a newborn's."

Tony was utterly disgusted, "Dammit. That's seriously sick! Any ideas of who it might be, Thor?" he eyed the Thunder God, "Thor?"

"I'll kill them!" he said, "I swear in the name of the All-Father and as a future king of Asgard, I will kill them!" Thor exploded.

Thunder could be heard outside, "Wow, Thor! Easy with the thunder out there! That isn't at all helping Loki! We'll get the person, alright? But right now, you've got to calm down!" he carefully laid his hand on the God's shoulder, "Okay?"

Thor slowly breathed in and out, "I am fine, Stark!" he growled. Loki whimpered at the thunder sound, "I'm sorry, brother!" he picked Loki up and cradled him in his arms, "I am okay Loki. I believe I got a little carried away." He held him closed and reacted when Tony's phone vibrated.

Taking his phone out of the pocket again and Tony checked it, "Holy crap!" he looked around 'oh yeah, Cap wasn't here with them!'

"What is it Tony?" said Bruce, while he rubbed a hand up and down Loki's back.

 

He looked at them, "It's a message from Phil. He's on his way here with Natasha and Clint!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought to myself whether or not this should be a cliffhanger.. Sorry guys! I promise that won't happen everytime! At least it's longer, right? Just really wanted to give you a new chapter!


	3. Habits Die Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back in school, so there's a lot of new things to get into!  
> Hope you like this chapter! Please tell me if you see any mistakes!  
> Also, if you want something in the story, go ahead and tell me :)
> 
> Thank you all for reading! It gives me the strength, to keep going!

Steve, Bruce, Tony and Thor agreed to gather them all (except Thor and Loki) in the living room, to start with. Then they would try to explain the situation for Natasha and Clint. Of course they couldn't say too much. And when the explanation was over, Thor would come in with Loki.  
No matter what would happen afterwards, they would have to deal with it. They couldn't turn their back on Thor now!

They just hoped, things would get well.

When Natasha and Clint got back, they got the opportunity to freshen up and change clothes.

They didn't think much of being gathered in the living room, with Bruce, Steve and Tony standing up, Natasha couldn't help but feel a little suspicious with the strangely tight atmosphere, "What has happened?" she questioned.

Before any of them could answer, she held up a hand, stopping them, "I can read you all like books, do not try to lie!" she smirked.

"Before we get to the point, you have to promise us you'll listen!" spoke Steve.

"And no weapons either!" added Tony.

Natasha looked at Clint, who shrugged, she then looked back at them, "Of course!" she assured.

"What have you done now, Tony?" Clint joked.

Taking over, Steve answered, "He has done nothing, Barton. Now be quiet, this is serious!"

"Alright, alright, my bad" he smiled, holding up his hands.

Steve and Tony shared a look, preparing themselves for what was going to happen, while Bruce stood on the sideline behind them. Bruce hoped the other guy wouldn't come out more for the day, but he would if he had too. He thought the other guy was taking a liking to Loki, since he became so calm around him the last time. Besides, Loki did not seem frightened of him, so he could well accept himself being in Loki's company, without worrying too much.

"Okay, you have to accept that we're doing this no matter what!" explained Steve, "We understand if this will be difficult for you, but do not interfere in any way, understood?"

Clint and Natasha were both confused, "What are you talking about, Cap? And why do you all look so serious?" blurted Clint.

Looking at Tony one more time, Steve spoke up, "Thor, please come in here."

Thor went warily into the room, carrying Loki. He stopped beside Steve, who was looking carefully at the two agents. Especially, agent Barton, who had the shocked 'I don't believe my eyes' expression.

"Son of a bitch." he mumbled.

"Barton.." began Thor.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS, THOR!?" he then shouted.

'Hopeless', thought Thor. Steve took over, "Clint, we know this is hard on you! But let us explain..." "Where is my arrow." Clint muttered. "You promised." barked Steve.

"Oh, I promised, alright! You just forgot to tell us, you were hiding a sociopath here in the Tower! I'll kill him!" he roared, while he went for his weapons.

Tony laid a hand on his shoulder to hold him back and said, "Stand down. Do you really think we're leting you walk out of here just like that?"

"Get out of my way, Stark! You don't understand how I feel, after that bastard played me like a rag doll! So you would be smart enough to back off!" he threatened.

But before anyone could do more, Natasha pointed a gun at Loki.

"What the hell, Natasha. I said no weapons!" said Tony, frustrated.

Nastasha sent him a glare, "Well, I'm an assassin. I lie!"

Holding eye contact, she saw Thor's betrayed eyes, "Please, Lady Romanoff", he begged.

However, as she got ready to pull the trigger, went Bruce in front of her, blocking her aim at Loki.

"Move." was all she said.

"Natasha," he began, "I am pretty sure we have experienced something like this before! If you're gonna shoot this time, then do it. But to get to Loki, you'll have to get through me and I don't think the other guy would like that."

"What are you waiting for, Natasha? Shoot him!" yelled Clint.

She stared at Bruce for a long time, held her breath and considered her options, before lowering the gun.

"So, are you kids ready to hear the whole story or not?" Tony asked.

 

When everything was explained for the two agents, they didn't seem to buy the fact that Loki now was innocent. Clint, specially, still wanted to stab him with an arrow.  
Of course Natasha held him back. Not because she couldn't see the justice Clint needed, but for the sake of their teammates.

"So yeah, that was all, I guess." Tony believed.

Clint saw disbelievingly on him, "Oh, you think so? Really? So what, he must stay here? Great, I've always wanted to share household with a crazy criminal."

Steve sighed deeply, "He's not like that anymore, Barton!" He understood why he wouldn't accept the news, but come on already.

When a grunt could be heard, they all put their attention on Loki, who sat there on Thor's lap and sucked on his fingers.

"No, brother! Do not eat your fingers." Thor patiently mentioned, taking Loki's hand out of his mouth, causing him to complain.

As Steve remembered everything that had happened earlier, he spoke, "He didn't get any food earlier, did he, Thor? He's probably hungry!"

Without giving the Thunder God any chance to answer the question, interfered Tony, "Speaking of food, I'm hungry too! When will you have the food ready?"

"Well, if I keep being interrupted, then I'll never be done with dinner. So please, make yourself a little useful and get a bottle ready for Loki, will you?"

"Yes, certainly! JARVIS, you heard the man!"

"Right away, sir"

Steve just stood there and glared at a grinning Tony, "You're such an idiot!" he said, walking out to the kitchen.

"Thanks for the compliment, Cap!" Tony yelled after the soldier.

"This is so ridiculous!" came it from Clint.

"Look, agent! Keep your opinions to yourself. You're in my tower, you got that?" provoked Tony and staring challengingly at Clint.

"Has everybody here gone completely insane?" He yelled and threw his arms up in the air.

Ignoring him, Tony walked out to get the milk and got back to Thor deliver it to him.

Thor adjusted himself and his brother a little in the sofa and pulled out Loki's fingers, which had mysteriously found their way back to his mouth. Then he took a hold of the bottle, to replace it with Loki's fingers.

Tony made himself comfy in the chair opposite Thor and Loki, while Bruce stood in the corner and inspected the scene before him. The only noise that could be heard, was Loki's suckling on the bottle's rubber teat and his eyes began being droopy. Bruce felt responsible to keep an eye on Loki, to see if his behavior or some of his habits would change at any point. That was the only way for Bruce to decide, what to do next. After some weeks, he would get Thor to feed Loki some mild food, so his stomach could get used to real food again.

"He really enjoys it." smiled Tony, watching Loki lightly touching his brother's face with half-closed eyes, still suckling down the bottle of milk.

Thor smiled down at Loki. He also enjoyed those moments. Bottle feeding his brother was another way for quality time. He had missed the time with the brother he knew from their childhood. He sure didn't like the fact that Loki had been tortured, but he was grateful that his brother's eyes didn't carry hatred anymore.  
When the bottle was empty, Thor removed it from Loki's mouth and placed it on the table.  
He then leaned back against the couch, pulling Loki with him. Thor held his brother close in his arms, hummed a little as he rhythmically patted him on his thigh.

 

Clint and Natasha glared at them with disgust. They had kept quiet until Clint decided that enough was enough, "Okay, I've had enough! Tasha! Call SHIELD! I want them to take Loki in for an interrogation, so I can make him talk!" he snarled, while he went towards the two Gods.

"Yeah, good luck with that Legolas. Baby bro over there, doesn't talk." Tony said, nodding at Loki.

Stopping halfway, Clint turned around and glared at Tony, "What do you mean, Stark?"

"Exactly what I said, he doesn't talk. Well, he can't either, to put it simple."

"Bullshit! Do you really expect me to believe that?" Not at all impressed, he bent down to Loki's level, waiting until he got eye contact with him, "Is this a trick? Are you just waiting for us to let our guards down, so you can kill us all in our sleep?"

"Barton!" shouted Bruce, getting his attention, "That's enough. If you won't believe it, then fine, we're not forcing you to. But you need to let it go!"

Clint straightened and rolled his eyes, "Whatever man" he muttered, "I'm sleeping with my arrows!", marching out of the room, Nastasha followed him.

Bruce sat down beside Thor, "Sorry about that, Thor! Give him some time. He'll get used to it sooner or later!"

 

"I thank you, Dr. Banner! You have been a great help!" he said, looking down at a now sleeping Loki, who had his fingers back in his mouth. Maybe that was just something temporary, but Thor was wondering why Loki had begun doing it.

 

It wasn't a temporary thing though. Even after a couple of weeks, Loki still took his fingers into his mouth. Thor kept removing them from his brother's mouth. He wasn't very pleased when Loki did something so disgusting.

With Thor sitting on the couch and Loki lying beside him, he saw once again Loki sucking on his hand, "No brother" leaning down and taking a hold of Loki's hand, a line of drool followed, "Do not suck on your fingers, it isn't good for you."

Bruce showed up and smiled at the Gods, "I know that look. Does he continue with putting his fingers in his mouth?"

Thor smiled gently at his friend, digging his hands under Loki's arms to pick him up, "That he does, that little troublemaker" he chuckled.

Bruce sat down beside them and took a hold of one of Loki's hands, "Hey buddy, what are you up to, huh?" he smiled. While he observed him, he noticed the way Loki suckled at his fingers and then he understood. Chuckling, "Ah, I see now."

Thor watched him, "What is it that you see, friend Banner?" he asked.

"Loki probably finds the suckling very relaxing. Perhaps, it reminds him of when you're feeding him."

Thor just blinked at him. He didn't understand where Bruce would want with this.

Bruce sighed and tried to explain it as good as he could, "For Loki, is feeding time more than getting food. When he lies in your arms, he gets affection and closeness. Which is something he needs and is longing for, after what he's been through. So having his fingers or almost anything in his mouth, keeps him calm."

"But Loki does not remember me?" Thor asked confused.

"That doesn't matter, Thor! He knows you're not gonna harm him. You are his safe place. That's why you have to keep being careful with him and stay the main caretaker, as he trusts you! I doubt that he would be very delighted if I were to take him up right now."

 

While Bruce and Thor kept talking, stood Clint leaning against the door frame, keeping an eye on them, when Natasha walked up to him, "You shouldn't let Loki get to you!" she said to him, "I can see he has changed."

"Not you too!" he groaned, "If you expect me to sit around, while that crazy bastard is on the loose, then you're wrong!"

"You have to calm yourself, Clint. Revenge doesn't suit you!"

"Why is this suddenly okay with you?" he hissed.

"It's not! But I'm wise enough to stay out of trouble with Bruce and Thor."

"I swear, Tasha! I won't rest until he is behind bars!" he said, while walking away, leaving Natasha behind. She exhaled and rubbed her forehead. 'Don't do anything stupid, agent,' she thought.

 

'The galaxy is boring without my entertainment. Hm, this is amusing. I am actually beggining to miss that little runt.'

Brought out of his thoughts, a servant was now seen. Bowing at the end of the throne, he said, "Master, we have found the Liesmith. He is back on Midgard with the earthlings and his 'brother', Odinson."

His master stood, as the servant continued, "Should we get him back?"

"No, not yet. Let him believe that he's safe. Then we will take him, afterwards!" he chuckled.

"Understood, master!" then the servant got up and left.

Sitting back down with satisfaction in his eyes, "This is gonna be fun. Don't worry my pet. You'll come back to me eventually." Thanos grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter, guys!  
> It just felt right to end it here! Besides, I thought you deserved an update!


	4. If It Helps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! A new chapter.. Hurray!  
> I hope you like it!

Though Bruce thought Thor should continue with the bottle feedings at least for a little while, he decided it was time for Loki to get a real meal. He spoke with Thor and he agreed to sit with Loki at the table, when everybody was going to eat. That way, Loki would become more social, instead of only being fed in the living room. Bruce stood in the kitchen with Steve, he fixed and heated Loki's food and Steve made their food. They were done at the same time as planned. Steve set the table, while Bruce finished up.

They were all sat at the table, except for Clint. Bruce put a bowl of mashed apples for Thor to feed Lok and said, "I've chosen something light and It's slightly warm, so he shouldn't get any problems with his stomach." as he smiled at the two brothers.

"Thank you, Dr. Banner!" Thor accepted the bowl of puree. "Here brother, do you want to try some delicious apple?" he asked as he took the spoon, scooped up some of the mushy food and held it up to Loki's mouth. When Loki opened his mouth slightly, Thor carefully shoved the spoon inside. Loki immediately began sucking on the spoon, "There you go Loki. It's good, aye brother!" Thor commended.

Everyone, besides Natasha, watched the fondness Loki took on the new food. He was now interested in feeling it with his hands. Trying to take the spoon, Thor took it away to avoid a mess. Dipping the spoon back into the bowl, he fed Loki some more.

Taking his hand to his mouth without swallowing, the food dripped down on Loki's clothes, by not being used to eating. But it was okay, thought Thor. Processing would take it's time.

When everyone had finished eating and cleared the table, Thor lifted his brother and got up, "Dr Banner, if it isn't too much to ask for, would you mind helping me by giving my brother a bath?"

"Of course not Thor, if you'll make him ready, then I'll be there in a minute." Bruce responded.

 

In the bedroom, Thor laid Loki down on the bed to remove his clothes. When it was done, he covered Loki with a blanket so he wouldn't be cold. Bruce entered the room, "Don't pick him up just yet, Thor. In order not to frighten him, we must fill up the tub before we take him to the bathroom. You wait here."  
While Bruce went to the bathroom to fill the tub with water, Thor leaned down to Loki and kissed him on the forehead, "You are so good, Loki! So good. I love you so much, brother!" Closing his eyes, Thor took in his brother's scent.

"You can come with him now, Thor." called Bruce.

Thor did so, with blanket and all. He went to the tub, removed the blanket and lowered his brother down to the warm water. Loki looked a little uneasy at first, but was otherwise okay with the new experience. Thor took a washcloth and made it wet, then gently washed Loki's arms.

"You're doing so well, buddy. I'm gonna wash your hair now, alright?" Bruce half asked, half informed. In case Loki would get it in his eyes, they didn't use shampoo. The last thing they wanted, was for him to panic. Especially for his first bath.  
Bruce carefully poured some water over Loki's head, ran his fingers through his hair as he rubbed his scalp.

Loki was lifted out of the tub, once the bath was over and immediately wrapped in a towel.  
He was then laid back onto the bed and patted dry by Thor. Meanwhile, was Bruce beginning to look through Loki's clothing. He looked at Thor, "Doesn't he have anything more comfortable?"

"More comfortable, Dr. Banner?" Thor looked up from Loki.

"I don't know." he took a pair of pants, "I just thought, now that Loki doesn't move much, he needs something cozy. And this" he holds up the pants, "Is not cozy."

"Knock knock." Tony interrupted. "Something wrong?" he entered the room.

"Stark, do you think you could get Loki some suitable clothing?" Bruce asked.

"Um, hello! Billionaire?" he said, "Of course I can! Just tell me what it is you want and I'll get it."

Looking through the clothes again, Bruce responded, "Well, I'm not sure. Some sweatpants, sweaters, a pajamas, maybe a hoodie? Can you get that?"

"Absolutely! JARVIS. Get it delivered, will you?"

"It is hereby done, Sir" informed the Al.

"Thanks, Tony. Now, shall we put you in some clothes, so you're not going to freeze, huh buddy?" Bruce smiled at Loki.

 

Meantime, Clint went alone down to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. He was not going to fall alseep, so Loki strangle him at night. He wasn't stupid.

"Won't you have anything to eat?"

Startled, Clint turned around quickly. He saw Steve standing with coffee himself, "Not really hungry." he muttered, "Where is the bastard?"

"Thor and Bruce are giving him a bath." Steve stared at him, "Why are you doing this to yourself, Barton? Is there really nothing that can get you to change your mind about Loki?"

"What do you think, Rogers? Be honest!" he sneered.

"He was tortured, Clint!" Steve barked.

"And he deserved it!" Clint barked back.

Steve stared shocked at Clint, "If I were you, I wouldn't tell Thor, what you just said!" he glared. "You're an Avenger, Barton! We're here to create justice for people. To help them! Since when did torture become justice in your opinion? How can you call yourself a hero, if you can't even see that what happened to Loki, is wrong. Drop the attitude and open your eyes!" he said as he left.

"Yeah right." Clint mumbled.

 

Next morning when Steve went to the living room, he saw Thor kneeled down on the floor, with Loki in front of him. With both of his brother's arms in his own hands, Thor gently clapped Loki's hands together in a rhythm, then blew a raspberry on his stomach, causing him to giggle, "Baby brother." Steve heard Thor murmured, "My little baby brother."

"Thor?"

He looked up, "Ah! My apologies, Rogers. I did not hear you enter."

"Uh no, it's okay! I'm sorry to bother you, I was simply curious!" Steve took a breath, "What were you doing?" he asked, while he smiled confusingly.

Thor straightened up a bit, "You see, I had a conversation with Banner last night. He thought it would be best for my brother's senses, to be stimulated in many levels. Such as speaking and touch.

"Oh. So where is Banner?" Steve said, looking around.

"Right here!" Bruce responded, joining the group with Tony, "I had to go down and receive the package."

"What package?"

Bruce sat down with a pair of scissors, to open the box, "Last night, we ordered something for Loki to wear."

Oh, that made sense, thought Steve, "Wait, last night? And it's already been delivered?"

"You should know, how much special treatment you get, when you're a billionaire!" explained Tony.

"So, what does he think about 'playtime', Thor?" asked Bruce, while he opened the package.

"It is wonderful, Banner! I believe he enjoys it very much! Especially when he giggled." answered the proud big brother.

"Well, that's an improvement! Good to hear!" Bruce smiled.

"Wait a minute, he giggled? Loki really giggled?" Tony went surprised towards Thor, "And I totally missed it? That sucks!" he crossed his arms and sulked.

Bruce rolled his eyes, but still smiled, "You're such a child, Tony!"

"It was fairly easy, Stark. The only thing I did was this," Thor said, took his brothers hands in his own and blew another raspberry on his stomach, causing Loki to laugh once again.

Tony looked at Steve and Bruce, who were also watching the scene before them, "That was creepily cute! Is that wrong of me to think that?" he grinned all over his face.

Smiling, Thor patted lightly at Loki's stomach, "It reminds me of when our mother did it to us, when we were children. I had a silly hope that maybe Loki would memorize her. I'm just thankful, I remember."

"And we're here to help!" Steve smiled sadly.

"Take a look at this." interrupted Bruce, while he held some of the new clothes up, "This is gonna be so much more comfortable, than what you're wearing now, buddy." he said to Loki and scanned the contents in the box. Then he spotted something, "Uhm, Tony! This must have been a mistake, cause I just found this," he held up a little box of pacifiers, "in the package."

"Ah, no. It's good enough, it's supposed to be there."

"Why?" Bruce starred mockingly at Tony.

"Most likely because I ordered them." he grinned.

Thor and Steve noticed the tension between the two men, "Why would you order something so useless?"

"Hey, it's not useless. I saw them on the website, so I just thought 'maybe Loki would use those instead'. You've seen how much he takes his hands in his mouth.

Bruce sighed, rubbing his face, "Do you really expect him to use them? Seriously? This must be your dumbest idea, ever."

"It's not dumb! See for yourself." taking the box from Bruce, Tony went over to where Loki was, unpacked a pacifier, pulled out Loki's hand out of his mouth and pressed the item in.

Loki began sucking on it, as soon as it was in place. "Told you!" gloated Tony.

"Fine. You win!" said Bruce, "Now, Thor. Should we get him changed?"

"Aye, that we shall, Dr Banner." Thor said, while he began to undress Loki.

"What should we dress him in now?" asked Bruce, as he sorted the clothing, "He shouldn't freeze, but we also don't want that he gets too hot! So maybe a hoodie is too early for the season?"

Steve bent dont beside Bruce, to take a look, "What about the pajamas?" he said, while taking a hold of the nightwear.

"It's not a pajamas.." said Tony.

They blinked confused, "What?" Steve spoke.

Tony crossed his arms. "I said, that it isn't a pajamas. It's a hoodie-footie!" he claimed.

Starring at each other, Steve and Bruce just got more confused, "Uh, what?" asked Steve.

Taking the garment, Tony huffed, "A hoodie-footie! It's some kind of outfit for adults."

"How do you even know that?" Bruce continued.

"The site described it as such!"

"Does it really matter what it's called?" Steve took over.

"Yes! It does matter! Say it properly or not at all!" he gnarled.

Turning around, Bruce got eye contact with Tony, "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong is, I haven't got drunk in weeks! Weeks! And I'm going crazy!" he said, as he freaked out.

"You're unbelievable, Stark!" Steve chuckled.

"It is done , Dr. Banner!" told Thor.

Handing back the outfit, Bruce accepted it and went over to the Gods, "Now, let's get you dressed, buddy! Can you lift him up, Thor?" He did so, then Bruce laid the clothing out on the floor, as he unzipped it, "Lay him on top of it." he said.

When Loki was laid back down, Bruce and Thor worked to get him in the outfit. However, Loki didn't appreciate to be manhandled. They first got his feet through the legs of the clothing and Thor got his hands through the arms. Loki was in tears, by the time they were done and the pacifier had fallen out of his mouth.  
Thor picked him up fast, "Aww, it is alright, brother. Don't cry! You look so cute!" he hushed him.  
Bruce took the pacifier from the floor, wiped it off, before giving it to Thor. Even though, Loki had stopped crying, the minute he was in Thor's arms. Thor took the pacifier from Bruce and pushed it back into Loki's mouth.

Steve really had pity on Loki. That wasn't the war criminal, they fought against almost a year back. There he was, sucking on a pacifier, dressed in a green and grey striped fleece suit and held by his brother, while tracks of tears could be seen down his cheeks.

"I think someone needs a nap!" said Tony, when Loki laid his head on Thor's shoulder.

"Aye, I think I will put him down for a bit." Thor responded and went to their bedroom.

In the bedroom, he tucked Loki in and sat down on the other side of the bed, "Go to sleep, brother." he whispered, "It is nap time. I will be here when you wake!"  
It took a minute or two, but Loki soon closed his eyes and fell asleep to Thor's humming voice.  
"Al of Stark?"

"At your service, Mr. Odinson." the Al responded.

"Will you watch over my brother?"

"Of course."

Knowing that, Thor could leave without any worries. He then sneaked out of the room to rejoin the others.

"He's already sleeping, my friends!"

"Yeah, understandable! He looked exhausted." mentioned Bruce.

Tony got up to pour himself a drink, "No shit, Sherlock. Everything's still pretty new for him! Pretty normal for him to be drained."

Unable to hold back his thoughts, Steve said, "Still, it's pretty messed up, huh? How it takes forever to fix someone, when it only takes a moment to break them!"

That bothered Thor, "He can be fixed, right Banner?"

"..."

"Bruce?" said Tony as he turned around with the drink in his hand.

Reacting, Bruce studied his team, "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Seems like I spaced out a bit. Uh, I have to be honest, guys! He's pretty bad! I haven't seen anything like this. And I don't even know how long he's been tortured!"

"Your guess, pal?" Tony said, while he looked at Thor.

Thor grimaced, "I am uncertain. He got locked up as soon as we got back to Asgard! I believe he was in his cell for a few months? So, he was gone for 6 months? At least!"

"What? Thor, are you serious? Half a year? Really? Why didn't you find him?" Tony spoke frustrated. He couldn't believe it! 6 months! That was a long time!"

"Tony, calm down! Thor probably did everything he could! Right?" Steve shouted, defending Thor.

"Well, it was actually a coincidence that I found him in Vanaheim. I did not know he was there, before Heimdall told my father. I overheard my father's orders for the guards to get him and took off, before he could say otherwise."

That caused Tony to scowl at the God of Thunder, "A coincidence? The problem is, you didn't look for him thoroughly!"

"May I interrupt, Sir?" JARVIS' voice filled in the room.

As everyone breathed out after that little extreme moment, Tony responded, "Yeah, JARVIS! What is it?"

"It seems as we speak, your guest is having a breakdown ."

"Loki!?" yelped Thor.

"What is he doing now, JARVIS?" Tony shouted, as they ran towards the elevator.

"He has breathing problems and his blood pressure is quite high." JARVIS replied.

"Can't this thing go any faster, Stark?" barked Thor, when they stood in the elevator.

When they reached the floor where Thor's and Loki's bedroom were on, they could hear a pierced cry. Thor rushed in to his brother.

What they saw were shocking. Loki lay on the bed and cried his soul out, while he pulled his hair, "Oh brother!" whispered Thor. Tightening his face, he placed his hands under Loki's armpits, lifting him up into his arms, over the shoulder.  
Loki didn't acknowledge being picked up. Without opening his eyes at all, he continued his crying, "Shh, brother, you're okay! I'm here, shh! Do not hurt yourself, please brother!" Thor begged as he loosened Loki's grip of his hair, "May I ask for his soother?"

Referring to one of the three men, Steve moved towards the bed to find the pacifier beside the pillow, then went back to his wearied friend and his tearful little brother. He gave the pacifier to Loki and held it till he closed his mouth.  
Thor held Loki's head in the crook of his neck, while he patted his back and swayed him a bit, "Breathe with me, brother! Shhh, I've got you! I will always protect you!" he hushed him.

Loki kept wailing his eyes out, causing him to cough heavily.  
Deciding to try something else, Thor sat down on a chair and turned Loki to lay in the crook of his arm. He rocked him in his arms, waiting for his brother to calm down.

When he quieted down, he finally opened his teary eyes. They were unfocused at the beginning, but then they focused on Thor, "Hello brother!" Thor muttered and stroke away Loki's tears.  
His eyes were red, from the crying and he felt so warm, "Dr. Banner, can you take a look at my brother?" he said, without looking up.

Bruce appeared in front of them, "Something wrong, Thor?" he asked, worryingly.

"I believe my brother is ill."

Bruce put his hand on Loki's forehead, "He's burning up! Yeah, I think he's getting a fever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again with the 'cliffhanger'? Yeah, I know I'm so mean :P But it's longer than last time!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, leaving comments and kudos! It makes me really happy!


	5. Can't Get Any Worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little behind, cause I've had a pretty shitty week. Lot of homework, a school party and a painful weekend. My body's done!  
> No matter what, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Later, Thor was holding a now sleeping brother. He was afraid that Loki would awake, if he put him down. He took a moment to enjoy the sight. His brother looked so peaceful. The event that happened earlier was still in his mind. Was it a dream, or more a nightmare, that woke him?

Too deep in his own thoughts, he didn't notice when Bruce entered the room, "Are you okay, Thor?"

Frowning, he answered, "I am fine, Dr. Banner." He looked down at Loki, "You said he was about to get 'a fever'? How can you tell?"

"Well, I assume it's a fever. Could be a cold! But the symptoms for a fever, is hot skin. And he sure was warm. I guess we just have to wait and see if he's getting any worse the next couple of days!"

Thor stared at Bruce, "What hope is there for my brother, Banner?" Bruce avioded eye contact with his comrade, "There's something you are not telling me!"

Taking a deep breath, he sighed, "It's just.. It's only a theory! But I doubt that Loki will ever get his memories back."

Thor stiffened in shock, "W-What?"

"I'm not even certain! I'm sure he can get better, but I think it'll be without his memories. He's been through too much, Thor! I don't think his mind can take much more." added Bruce. He felt really bad, but he had to tell Thor the truth.

Loud thunder could suddenly be heard over the tower. Then Thor got up, brought Loki with him.

"Thor?" said Bruce carefully.

"I.. I don't believe your words! My brother will be fine. He will regain his memories and then I will bring him home!"

"Thor.." Bruce eyed the still sleeping form in the Thunder God's arms, "Come on, put Loki down!"

"You will not take him away from me!" Thor got closer to Bruce.

"Hey, hey!" he said, he held up his arms in surrender as he took a few steps back, "Come on, Thor! Can't you see I just want to help? I'm not trying to keep you from your brother!" he really tried to keep the other guy calm now.

"You are right about that." Thor growled. Then he went over to the window and summoned Mjolnir.

"No, wait. Thor!" Bruce called out as Thor disappeared into the dark rainy night.

That wasn't good! He had to get the others.

 

Thor flew in anger. How dare the mortals try to make him believe that his brother never would be himself again? Of course he would get back to normal! It was Loki they were talking about.

Landing on the top of a bridge, he looked up to the sky, he shouted, "Heimdall? I know you can hear me. If you can, take us back now!"

Heavy raindrops made them both soaked to the skin. The change of temperature and his drenched clothes made Loki fussy. His whimpers, made Thor look down at him, "There, brother. I've got you!" he shushed him, bouncing him a little. He looked back at the sky. Thor knew, Heimdall wasn't going to take them back at the moment. He might as well give up. It made him roar in rage into the night.

 

At the same time. Bruce, Steve and Tony were about to go out of their good skin. Bruce had told them that Thor flew his way with Loki, just a few minutes ago.

"So he left just like that?" Tony demanded to know the truth. He couldn't believe Thor. What made him leave in anger like that?

Bruce ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, he didn't like the idea of Loki never gaining his memories."

"Uhh, duh? Who would?"

Steve stood beside Tony, "Then we have to find him!"

"Where would you look after a flying God, Captain?" Tony asked, crossing his arms.

They heard a crash out on the balcony, before Steve had a chance to answer.  
Thor came inside, when they were on their way out there.

He looked sadly at the three humans, "My friends. I must apologize for my behavior!"

Bruce held a hand up to stop him, "Thor, give Loki to Steve."

Speechless, Thor didn't know how to respond, "I regret my choice of leaving.."

"That doesn't matter. Let Steve take him for now." interrupted Bruce.

Reluctantly, Thor let the Captain take his brother into his own arms.

Bruce then laid his hand on Thor's shoulder, "Now go clean yourself up." he smiled gently, "We got him!"

Hesitantly, the Thunder God went to his room. He had to show them some trust.

When Thor was gone, Bruce turned around to see Steve putting Loki down onto the floor. Tony had given him some fresh clothes to dress Loki in. And off he went, probably to get something to drink. Bruce went off too.

"You are soaking wet. Let's get you in something dry, huh?" Steve whispered as he unclothed Loki.

When the suit was removed, Loki coughed thickly, "Oh no, that doesn't sound good. It wasn't nice of your brother to take you out in the rain. Especially when you're not feeling very well anyway!"

Steve quickly got him dressed in a pajamas, when a sneeze came, "Bless you!" he said as he picked him back up.

That's when Bruce came back in with a fresh made bottle, "How is he?"

"He's doing fine. But it sounds like there's something in his lungs, when he's coughing.

"Hmm, I figured. Come here with him, Steve." Bruce sat down on the couch.

Positioned in Bruce's lap, Loki let out a whine as he was wrapped in a blanket, to keep him from freezing, "Now Loki, I know I'm not Thor! But you know me, I just want to give you something warm to drink." he said, taking off his glasses and gave Loki the bottle, which he gladly took.

By the time Loki had finished the bottle, Thor came into view.

"Can I take my brother?" he asked.

Bruce sighed, "You don't have to ask, Thor! I just needed to take care of him." he said.

Thor reached his hands under Loki's arms and picked him up, taking the blanket with him.

"I apologize, Banner. For everything!"

"It's okay!" Bruce chuckled. "Though, his fever got worse."

With guilt in his eyes, Thor felt like the worst brother ever! How in the nine realms could he have been so foolish, to take his brother outside in such weather? It was his own fault if Loki got worse, which he probably would. He heard how bad Loki sounded, when he began coughing. That got him to feel more guilty. He hoped Loki would get better after a few days.

 

Unfortunately, Loki got worse. Over the next days, he hardly got any sleep. With a stuffy nose, itchy eyes, a sore throat and a higher fever, he was very dreadful.

Loki lay on the bed, while he sobbed and rubbed his eyes. Thor came back from the bathroom with a wet washcloth, he had gone out to get. After he had sat down, he pulled Loki up on his lap to clean his face with the cloth. It made Loki cry out and hit out after Thor. Because Loki's punches were weak, Thor didn't say anything to it, "There. Doesn't that feel better, brother?" he said as he kissed his brother on his forehead. Loki just cried harder and pushed himself away from Thor, "I know, I know! You do not want cuddling right now. I am so sorry! Please, do not make it worse, brother!" Thor said, taking Loki's hand, when it again rubbed his eyes.

When Thor couldn't get Loki to calm down, he took him to Bruce's office again and knocked as he arrivied.

Bruce was reading, when Thor entered the room, "Still having problems with getting him to sleep?" he asked, looking up.

"It's that noticeable?" Thor smiled, overpowered by tiredness.

Bruce chuckled, "It is! Well, let me have a look at him."

Loki was put on a examination bench and Bruce began the diagnosis, "Uh-oh, that doesn't look very pleasant, buddy!" when he saw Loki's face. It was tearstained with red eyes and a runny nose.

"I'm not sure if you'll allow this, Thor. But I really want to give him a vaccine!"

Thor looked confused, yet worried, "Why, Dr. Banner?"

"To strengthen his immune system! It's way too weak."

Thor's eyes turned desperate, "I'm almost ready to try anything!"

Bruce took a deep breath, "And you're sure? He will certainly cry!" forced he, earning a nod.

"Very well." he said and prepared the syringe, "Can you free one of his arms?"

After Thor had unfastened the buttons of Loki's pajamas, he pulled Loki's arm out of the sleeve.

Rubbing Loki's arm a little, Bruce pressed the needle into the area of the skin.

They both expected for Loki to scream, kick and cry, but all they got was a flinch as he whimpered at Thor, "You're doing so well, brother!" Thor mumbled, rubbing Loki's forehead.

"There. All done!" Bruce cheered, smiling.

"Good job, brother!" Thor leaned down to him.

As Bruce studied the two Gods, he could hear how Loki tried to breathe through his nose. With such a snotty nose, Bruce assumed it must be difficult to even breathe. He had to make it better for his patient, so he took a nasal aspirator to clear Loki's nose, "Can you pick him back up, Thor?"

A little bewildered at first, but Thor did as he was told.

Instructing him to sit down with Loki on his lap, Bruce took the aspirator and settled himself next to Thor on the bench. As Loki was laid down, Bruce gently supported Loki's face, so he could get a look. Clenching his jaw, he squeezed the pump and inserted the tube into Loki's nose. As he let go, the tool got filled with the mucus.

Loki fussed and tried to jerk his head, but was prevented to by Thor's arm, "You just can't get a break, huh brother?" Thor cuddled him.

After, he decided to give Loki some peace for now. Bruce washed the item before handing it to Thor, "Keep this with you. It would be helpful to have, when his nose gets stuffed again."

"I thank you, Banner. You have been a great help!"

He smiled, "Everytime, Thor."

 

Since Clint had found out that Loki was in the tower, he had spent the most of his time in the gym. Sometimes Tasha was there too. But he really needed the space. He couldn't believe his teammates! Letting a murderer live in their home. That was just insane. But he wasn't going to let his guard down.

"Aren't you going to attack, Barton?"

Snapping back to reality, he saw Natasha before him, in a fighting position, "I'm waiting for when you're least prepared."

Nastasha only lifted an eyebrow, "Did you really believe I would fall for that? I hope that wasn't your best shot!" she said as she walked towards him, "I know you're thinking about Loki. It is like he has possessed your mind. Barton, you have to understand he isn't the same."

"Tasha. Stop! I'm tired of this. Everybody have tried to let me believe he has changed. Maybe he has, I don't know. And I don't care. No matter how I look at him, I only see a crazy psychopath! Nothing can ever change that."

She didn't press him further than that, he would take his time, "Okay. Go take a shower, agent."

Turning around to take his leave, he looked back at her, "Aren't you coming?"

"No not yet. I'm gonna train some more, but I'll see you later."

 

After his shower, Clint was on his way down to the hallway. Passing by Thor's room to get to the elevator, the agent glanced towards the room. The door to Thor's and Loki's bedroom was slightly open. Considering something he probably shouldn't, he scanned through the crack of the door and saw Loki on the bed. Thor shortly came into view, standing in front of his brother and mumbling something Clint couldn't hear. Then the Thunder God took a hold of the bastard's pants and pulled them down. Hell no, that's was something he didn't need to see.  
Before he turned around to leave, something white caught his eye. Wait a minute, he thought. That couldn't be..

"Clint?"

He quickly turned around and acted as if he had just arrived, when he saw Bruce standing there, "Uhm, I was just.." Bruce lifted an eyebrow, waiting for more information.

"Looking for someone?" he then guessed.

"Y-yeah, I wanted to speak with Rogers." Clint lied, hoping he wasn't too predictable.

Bruce only glanced at him, but dropped the suspicion, "Well, he's not here. Try look in the living room." while he neared the door, almost pushed Clint away.

"Right! I gotta go, sorry for bothering you." he apologized, then hurried for the elevator.  
This would stop now! He had to find Rogers and Stark.

 

The second Bruce stuck his head into the room, he saw the two brothers, "How's it going?" he smiled, causing Thor to look up.

"It goes very well. We're getting ready for a bath, isn't that right brother?" Thor answered as he finished cleaning his brother.

"Good idea! The warmth from the water could do him some good!" Then he sat down beside Loki, rubbing his arm, "How're you doing, buddy? You look a little worn out! How is your fever?" he gently asked as he held his hand up to Loki's forehead, "Hmm, still a little warm. We will have to get some food in that stomach after your bath." muttered he.

When Thor came over to take Loki, Bruce spoke up, "Did you know Clint was right outside the door?"

"No, that I did not know. What did he want?"

Bruce shrugged, "I'm not sure, I mean he said he wanted to speak with Steve. But I'm not sure I believe that. It looked like he was keeping an eye on you."

Thor repositioned his brother in his arms as he blinked confusingly at Bruce, "Keeping an eye on us? Why would he do that?"

"Come on, Thor, you know that. It's all about the Loki situation. Besides, I think he has discovered our little secret."

 

Clint came running down the hallway to the living room, before he shouted out, "Did you guys know about the di-diapers?" he angrily demanded to know.

Tony and Steve both looked at a very pissed off agent, "Yeah? Of course we did. Why?" Tony asked stupidly.

Clint took in a deep breath. They knew? What the hell? He tried so hard not to loose his cool and jump right over the table to hit those two idiots in the face. Maybe that was too late, "How far will he go, just to keep up an act? He's completely humiliating himself!"

The Captain of the team have had enough. Was Clint really still going on about that. Why couldn't he.. No, didn't want to see the truth? Loki was mentally broken and Clint's behavior sure wasn't helping!  
"Are you serious, Clint? Can't you give him a break already? Do you really think he deserves all of your bullshit?" he yelled.

Tony stood there with wide eyes. Steve swore. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Why should I? He is a criminal. A crazy mind disturbed psychopath! And you babying him, isn't gonna change that!" Clint shouted as he marched out of the room.

 

"There, all nice and clean, huh brother?" Thor chuckled as he dried his brother with a towel. Next he placed him onto the bed, "Now we have to freshen you up a bit." he took some lotion onto his hands and massaged it on his brother's skin, "That was quite nice with a warm bath?" he rubbed their noses together, as he did he could hear the difficulty Loki had with his nose. The mucus filled his nose, so Thor took the aspirator to empty it for a little while. He knew the nose would get snotty again, so he just had to keep doing it until Loki was well again.  
Loki wouldn't have any of it. He could understand why though. Loki hadn't had a break yet. Loki struggled to get free, but Thor's hold was too strong. Thor got the pacifier and pushed it into his brother's mouth, "Shh shh, I'm only trying to help, brother. I'm almost done, I promise!"

Bruce stood and observed the brotherly moment in the bathroom's doorway, he had just finished cleaning the bathtub.  
The pacifier soothed Loki, so Thor could get the task done, without too much of a battle. Though, a whine could still be heard. He must admit that Tony's idea about the pacifiers, wasn't completely dumb. Things sure had been easier, with them as a back-up plan, when everything else were no use.

When Thor was done for now, he put a fresh nappy and some clothes on Loki, then he picked him up and carried him downstairs, followed by Bruce.

 

"Oh, there you are! Clint found out about the diapers.." revealed Tony, the minute he saw Bruce and Thor coming out of the elevator.

Bruce sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, I thought so. What did he say?"

Steve and Tony glanced nervously at each other, "Are you sure you want to know?" Tony questioned him.

Breathing out, he said, "No, not really. I guess we have to deal with things as they come along?"  
Who knows? Perhaps Clint would get over it and learn to deal with it. All they could do for now, were to focus on Loki and try to make him feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There has been a few to ask about diapers. Now I've included them, but they won't be the main focus. So hope you don't mind :)  
> But thank you all for reading!


	6. Doing the Right Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay, an update - Wohoo!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I haven't really double checked this chapter for any mistakes. It's way past midnight and I have school, but I'll will check!  
> This chapter was a pain! It's really hard, getting your thoughts into words. And I sort of just wanted to update this, cause I guess I owed you an update!  
> So here it is!!  
> And - it's longer! So consider this a double up chapter!
> 
> I will of course try to update again soon!  
> Now this chapter is finished!  
> Anyway, I hope you guys like it!  
> BTW- Loki is normal sized! In case any of you are wondering! Don't like it? Don't read! :)

Thanos got up from his throne and looked out on the galaxy. He couldn't see or sense him at all, but the Titan knew he would find him somehow. He grinned, "You think you're safe, don't you, little godling? Well, I will get you back. You have a punishment that awaits." he said loudly to himself as his servant entered the room, "The message has been sent to the mortals!"

Thanos smirked, everything went just as planned,"Do you have the army ready?"

"Yes, master!"

"Good. Then go get the runt."

"Understood!" The Other bowed before he went off.

 

 

Thor enjoyed spending time with his brother. Loki was still sick. His nose, still a little bit runny, but he was feeling better. Therefore Thor finally wanted some bonding time with him. As he held Loki in his arms, he took his mouth down on Loki's neck, blowing soft kisses. Loki struggled a bit in the Thunder God's strong grip as his laughter echoed in the room. Thor loved listening to his little brother's aodrable giggles.

"Num num num, my brother is very tasty. I think I'll have a bite!" he uttered, causing Loki to laugh again as Thor nibbled at his neck with his lips, "Quite a sensitive neck you have there, huh brother?" smiled the big brother warmly. He focused down upon Loki's belly. "I wonder if your tummy is just as sensitive." Thor pushed Loki's sweater up a bit to blow a raspberry on the bare skin. More laughter could be heard. It was like music to his ears.  
But he soon decided to give Loki a break, as he still wasn't completely well. Loki looked up at Thor with the beautiful teary green eyes of his, "I love you so much, brother!" Thor said and kissed him on his cheek. He couldn't wait for Loki to get better.

 

Later the Avengers were gathered for lunch in the dining room. They didn't utter a word, other when Thor accompanied in a conversation with Bruce as he fed Loki mashed potatoes.

Everything was peaceful and quiet until there was sound of a bell coming from the elevator, before opening the door when it reached their floor. They stared at each other, wondering who it could be.

"Uhm, JARVIS? Is there somebody else in the tower?" suspected Tony as he got up.

As the other Avengers got up to follow, a figure came into their view.

"You are walking on very thin ice!"

Tony stopped up immediately, "Fury! What the.. What are you..? How did you get in?"

Fury stepped forward with some guards. The Avengers turned around, looking shockingly at each other as the guards surrounded them.

"Will you tell me what the hell's going on, Nick!"

"I had my reasons to suspect you for hiding that wanted war criminal, Stark!" Nick snarled. He looked at Thor who held Loki in his arms, "Seems like I was right."

"How did you found out? Sir! " inquired Steve

"We received some kind of message from Loki's allies.. They demand Loki back. Hand him over, now!"

"No, I demand some answers! Will you explain to me what the fuck is going on? What kind of message did you receive? And by whom? His 'allies'? Their not actually his allies, Nick." Tony spoke as he marched over to the Director.

Fury's eye gleamed with anger, "You have no right to demand anything, Stark. Either you'll hand him over or you will all be coming with us!"

But Steve walked in front of Tony, "Sir, have they claimed to get Loki back? He's not going back there. Thor's theory is that Loki's been tortured by them! What good could he possibly be to them? He's no use for them anymore!"

"Is that my problem, Rogers?" Fury hissed. "All we know is that they require him back and that's all there is to know. I don't care what they're gonna do to him. They can torture again for all that I care. I'm taking it from here and I'll be making the decisions. I'd rather risk his life, than a whole city's."

Bruce replied, "With all due respect, Sir. But who knows, they won't use Loki to attack New York again or any other city?"

"We won't know! But I'm not taking the chance. I'm a very busy man and I've got no time to deal with you!" Fury said as he sharpened his voice.

"Wow, wow. Okay, calm down!" Tony exclaimed as he got everyone's attention. Tony exhaled while he ran a hand through his hair, "Look, Nick! This is pretty serious, we know! But Loki's pretty messed up. He can't take anymore bullshit. Hell, he doesn't even feel 100% secure by his own brother's presence."

Even though he knew it was true, that stung Thor right in the heart. He did all he could, but even he couldn't get Loki to feel safe. It was getting better, sure. But he had never really shown longingness to his brother.

"This useless scumbag isn't worth any form of your protection."

"Hey hey, Mr. Eyepatch. Remember, the 'scumbags' big bro is right over there." Tony spoke up as he nodded towards Thor.

Fury didn't want to deal with Tony's jokes right now, "Now you listen to me. You've got exactly 1 minute to do as I say or so help me, you will regret it! The Council is keeping an eye on our every move and you're keeping a criminal here as a pet. Hand him over before I'll have my men drag him out!"

Giving it another chance, Steve replied, "Fury! There has to be another way. We can't just give up on him like that. We don't know what they're gonna do to him. He's been through too much. He's not the same as he used to be!"

Thor looked at his brother, Loki was clearly getting distressed by this, "I found my brother in Vanaheim. He was beaten and seriously injured! I took him to our mother, but it didn't do him any good by staying in Asgard. So I took him here. So I am the one to blame. I must admit that I didn't think of the consequences by taking him here. I only thought of what would be best for Loki. I had no idea that they would be looking for him."

"Vanaheim? I thought you took him back to Asgard?" as Fury took a few steps closer to Thor.

"I did, he was taken away from his cell. At first, we thought he was freed. But I think they wanted to punish him for failing them." Thor hesitated with his next theory, "I also believe that he was not in control of himself, when he attacked your city."

"Enough!" shouted Fury, "I don't know if he's got you under a spell or something, but I'm not gonna fall for that. Do you want the easy way out? Or the hard way? There's a car waiting outside." he began walking towards the elevator, but quickly turned back to the Avengers, "If you're not there with Loki within 5 minutes, we will drag him out, understood?"

He didn't wait for an answer as he went inside the elevator.

 

Steve looked worried, "What are we going to do, Thor?"

"We have to do as he says."

"What? Thor, you can't be serious! They're gonna lock him up for sure! Don't you care?" said Tony, frustrated.

"Of course I care about my brother, but I also care about this realm. It would only be wise to do as they say."

"Three minutes to go." said Clint with a sly smirk.

Tony could not believe his own eyes. Clint was so enjoying this! He couldn't help it, he just had to put him in his place. He walked up to Barton, clenched his hand to throw a punch right in his face so he fell onto the floor, then grabbed the front of his uniform, "Listen here Legolas, I am so done with your bullshit! You can think what you want about Loki, but keep your opinions to yourself! I understand that you have some difficulties with him, but he's not that Loki anymore! We're helping him, so you better get used to it!" 

Steve stepped in and laid his hand on Tony's shoulder, "That's enough, Tony. I think he understands it."

Tony let go and Clint landed back at the floor, "That's the problem, Cap! He doesn't understand anything! It's always 'Loki only deserves death. I was mindcontrolled, pity me. Blah blah blah'!" snarled he and walked away.

Bruce stood with Thor, trying to figure out what to do, "I have already made my decision, Banner. There's nothing else you can do. But thank you for everything you've done!"

Tony stopped right in front of them, "Wow, wait a second! Forget about going alone, we're going with you!"

"Stark, I cannot ask more from you. You have already done enough! This is all my fault. I brought Loki here, so it is my responsibility to make everything right. You do not have to worry about us."

Shaking his head, Tony crossed his arms, "Ah ah, no way! Either we're going with you or you're not going at all."

"Tony's right, Thor." Bruce smiled warmly, "We're in this together! You came to us for help. And that's what we're here for."

Thor looked around at the others. He was very grateful that they were there for him and Loki.

 

 

They were accompanied to a couple of CIA cars. Thor and Loki were escorted to one car while the rest of the team were directed to the other.

Bruce, however, followed Thor. He went to sit on the front seat, when one of the guards eyed them, but didn't dare say anything. They held onto their weapons with unease, which Bruce noticed. Loki was placed on Thor's lap. He stared at his brother as he kept sucking on his pacifier. Thor smiled at him, ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "Everything's gonna be alright, brother! You probably do not know what's happening."

 

They were reunited in a forest outside the city, where a plane was waiting for them. Thor and Bruce stepped out of the car, soon joined by the others and still surrounded by guards.

"There." Fury spoke up. When he caught their attention, he nodded toward the aircraft, "You're all to enter, Thor, you two enter first!" he commanded.

The guards lead Thor and Loki inside. Then Fury and the Avengers entered.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what are you going do with Loki?" Steve dared to ask.

Fury glared at the cap with his one eye, "We have to deliver him to his allies."

"Sir, they are not his allies. At least, not anymore! And he isn't dangerous! He's.. different!"

"That'll be for me to decide. Don't you think, Captain?" Fury said as he continued walking.

 

After a little while, the plane landed on the Helicarrier, where agent Hill stood with some more guards. 

'What a welcome', thought Tony.

Bruce turned around to meet Fury's gaze, "Is this necessary, Sir?"

"I'm not taking any chances, Banner." Fury answered.

Two of the guards walked up to Thor and in a blink of an eye they grabbed Loki's arms and pulled him out of Thor's arms. Thor didn't even get the chance to react. The guards had to drag Loki, since he didn't have the ability to walk anymore. He wailed and cried as they drawed him away from Thor.

Thor roared, "What do you think you're doing!" which made the others turn to see what was happening.

"Whoa! Don't do that! You guys. Wait!" shouted Tony as he ran to aid Thor in freeing Loki from the guard's hands.

Thor took Loki back in his arms, trying to calm him by lightly shushing at him.

"We've got our orders, Stark." growled one of the guards.

Tony growled back, standing between them and Thor, "And I prevent you from completing those orders."

"It's fine, gentlemen. I've got eveything under control." said Fury, with a coolness in his voice as he stood tall.

The guard frowned, "Are you sure, Sir?" Not quite convinced.

"Indeed."

The guards left and Nick stared at the Gods, "I expect to see you in the meeting room in 10 minutes." as he passed Barton and Romanova, he said, "Make sure they don't try anything funny." making them nod in understanding.

 

 

10 minutes after in the meeting room: The Avengers sat down around the table. It was them, Fury and two men who guarded the only door.

"Now, what do you gentlemen think we should do about this little problem?" said Fury, as he at down.

Tony inhaled, "We don't know yet.."

"Of course you don't" moaned Fury.

"But.. We can't hand Loki over to the Chitauri!"

Nick glared, "Then what do you suggest we do then?"

Tony was about to say something, but closed his mouth. He looked at Thor for a minute, "Couldn't we get Ascard to help, somehow?"

Thor lowered his gaze to his brother, who he seemed a little uneasy, "I don't think that's possible."

"I thought they were bound to help us on earth?" Steve asked.

"Aye, that is correct. But under certain circumstances. My father haven't seen my brother after he was locked away. He would by any chance hand him over."

"So you have no other option than deliver him back to them?" sighed Fury.

"We could just fight then! I mean, if they come for him. We've done it before, right?" mentioned Tony.

"And let innocent people die, just because you wanna keep him, Stark? Think before you speak, please!"

"Who says they'll stay away, even if we give him to them."

"Then we've done everything we could to prevent it for happening."

"But you'd expect us to fight?

Nick stared at Tony, "Yes, I would."

"Then I don't see the problem!"

Fury banged his fist on the table, "Enough with your sarcastic comments, Stark! We have no idea what we're up against. This isn't some kind of game! We may have a war coming and you think this is a dance on roses. Just because we've won before, doesn't mean we'll win this time."

Thor wanted to interrupt their argument, but before he could he heard a whine from Loki, who was trying to slide off his lap. Thor took his hands under Loki's arms and lifted him up.

"Look, all I'm saying is, we're not gonna give up on Loki like that."

Steve ran a hand over his face, "Tony, I don't think this is helping."

"Shut it, Cap!" hissed Tony, then looked back at Fury, "Look at him!" as he pointed at Loki, "Do you even recognize him?"

Fury scowled as he took a good look at the God. Right now he was trying to fight off his brother. Whimpering and moaning, he kicked up a fuss. If that was an act, he was very good at it. If Fury didn't know better, he would almost, almost feel bad for him. Loki was high and mighty, so full of pride. It hurt his eyes to see the God of mischief like that now. Although, he wasn't sure of which Loki he preferred.

Sighing, Fury rubbed his forehead, "Even if I could see what you meant, it wouldn't make any difference. As the Director of SHIELD, my duty is to protect the city and its citizens. I'd still have to do as they say."

Tony was once again speechless. The others didn't dare to say something. They probably had nothing to add. He looked around. Steve looked resignedly, Natasha and Clint didn't show any feelings, although Natasha looked a little different than Clint. In fact, Tony would almost say it was 'sorry'. And Bruce haven't said anything through the meeting. He was busy observing an anxious Loki.

Lost in thoughts, it came as a surprise when Tony suddenly heard a high-pitched cry. He looked at Thor, who still fought with his brother, trying to calm him down. Loki did not look happy at all when he tried to get off Thor's lap as he was repeatedly lifted back up into a sitting position.

Loki. Had. Had. It! He was restless, miserable and sick. Thor tried everything. Rocking him, running a hand through his hair, bouncing, shushing and murmuring sweet words. Everything!

"Uhm, do you need help, Thor?" Tony questioned, the moment Loki began kicking and screaming. Thor looked drained with the handful Loki was. He didn't even have the energy to answer Tony's question. So Thor took a good hold of him and stood, before lifting him half over his shoulder and patted his back in a soothing rhythm. Yet, Loki only cried harder.

"For fuck sake, will you shut him up already?"

"Barton!" barked Steve, then hissed, "Not helping."

"Ohh oh, I haven't said anything about helping!"

"Relax, Clint. Perhaps he's tired. We'll take him down for a nap. If we can get the permission to do so." Bruce told the agent.

"I don't think Fury's gonna let you take Loki out without any supervision. Am I right, Boss?"

"You can go."

"What?" The Avengers were clearly taken back by Fury's words.

"This is not up for discussion. Go, before I change my mind!"

Thor breathed out, "Thank you very much, Director Fury! You won't regret this."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I will.." Fury sat down and ran his hand over his face. What was he doing? He couldn't let them take advantage of him like that. Those Avengers would be his death someday. Still, he couldn't help himself. Loki didn't look like the man.. God, like he was before. Damn, he was getting a soft side and then to a killer, that didn't even deserve any form of kindness. He should be punished. Bound to rot in a cell for the rest of his miserable life.

"Well then, let's go guys!"

Nick blinked with his one eye, noticing just in time that Tony was moving towards the others, "Wait a minute, Stark! I meant Thor and Banner. I didn't gave all of you permission to leave!"

Though, Stark was the last person he wanted as company right now. He just wanted to let all of them go, so he didn't have to take care of this little problem. Man, this was giving him a headache.

Tony had stopped halfway, "Oh come on, Fury! Just let us go! I can't take anymore of this!"

"Enough! Either you stay here or none of you will leave this room."

"Fine." grumbled Tony as he sat down again.

Meanwhile Loki had been crying for the whole time, "Yeah I know, brother! You're sleepy, so we're gonna find a place you can lay down for a bit. Rest those drowsy eyes of yours.

"He's probably also in need of a change." he guessed as he got up from the chair.

Nick eyebrows twitched into a frown as he watched the Gods and the doctor before him, "What are you talking about, Banner?" snarled Fury.

"As we've told you, Loki isn't entirely himself." answered Bruce.

"That doesn't exactly answer my question, doctor."

"Yeah, I guess they forgot to tell you one little detail about Loki." Clint smirked as he whispered something else to his boss, which made the Director look at them with disgust.

Thor bounced Loki in his arms as he appeared to be looking for something.

"What is it, Thor?" questioned Bruce, without taking his eyes off of Clint. Bruce was beyond pissed! Clint only made their situation worse, he didn't have to interfere all the time.

"I can't seem to find Loki's soother."

Looking around the floor, Bruce muttered, "Didn't he had it earlier?"

"That I am sure of, yes." Thor said as he tried to keep Loki under control while he looked for the lost item.

"The last time I saw it was when we had the little disagreement with those guards." claimed Tony.

Thor sighed, balanced Loki with one arm and reached into his pocket to check after a spare one.

"Ah, perhaps I have one.." Bruce paused, he searched his pockets, but didn't find one.

Loki just kept crying and there weren't anything they could do.

 

Hot. Everything was so hot. He felt like his body was on fire. Burning him from the inside out. He hated that feeling. He felt dizzy and shaky. He began sweating and gasping for air. He could hardly breathe. It was awful!  
There was a lot of fuss around him.He could tell he was in a new place, with some new figures.  
He was okay with that though! As long as he had the scent close to him, he was fine. Something what was special about that scent. It made him feel safe and out of danger! It reminded him of someone. But who? He didn't remember.. It just made him even more upset! How could he forget? His mind confused him so much! The only thing he could do right now was to cry..

 

"Come on, Fury! Allow him some few minutes outside so he can calm down a bit. He's burning up!"

"Isn't it enough that I've given him permission to leave this room. He can stay in another room with Thor and Banner and without any guards, Stark. Do not push your luck!"

Steve cleared his throat, "With all do respect, Sir. He's pretty warm and it is a little worrying. He needs some fresh air to cool down."

Tony was thrown off by the Captain's choice of word, "Warm? Pretty warm? He's boiling!" Not that he was overreacting or anything, but it was near the truth. Loki looked like he was in so much pain and was now dripping in sweat. He hadn't seen anything like that. And wasn't Loki supposed to be a God? He had got to be the worst God ever, if he could get ill that easily. But it wasn't just a normal fever that could course something like that.

Big, wet tears were running down his cheeks and his face was covered in snot. Loki was in a sorry shape. Not accepting anything other than being held in his brothers arms, one hand grabbed tight onto Thor's cape, the other was wiping away his tears, "Okay, we have to try something! We need to get him out."

Barton sneered, "You're not permitted to go out, Tony." He almost sang.

Tony stared challenging at Clint, "Well, why don't you try to stop us, then?"

Natasha spoke softly, "You can't always do as you please, Stark!"

Tony sniggered, "Of course I can, I'm a billionaire!"

"Why is it that you're always making fun of everything, when things are turning serious?" breathed Clint, as he walked towards Tony.

"Otherwise, I would be bored.." Tony and Clint stood in front of each other.

Clint was smirking, "You're such a coward! Go on. Take him out, I dare you."

"SHIELD doesn't own me! We came here on our own free will and we can leave whenever we want."

Nick stood with his hands behind his back, "Don't be so sure about that, Stark. We'll be taken him into custody and you will stay here as well."

Tony stared at Nick for a while, blinking confusedly, "Wait.. What are you talking about?"

"It's quite serious, you've hidden a war criminel. And you have sworn to do anything to protect the earth. You're going against everything you live and stand for."

"Our job is to protect others, Fury! And that's what we're doing."

"Loki doesn't count, Stark! Try to understand what people will think about the great Avengers, if they find out that you've been hiding the one who killed their relatives. And I'll have the Council on my back if I don't keep the Avengers under control. So what's important to you?"

 

Bruce and Steve didn't interfere the conversation. They were torn between helping Loki and keeping the world safe. Could they be doing both? Right now, they focused on Loki. Speaking of Loki, he didn't seem to cry anymore.

"Thor?" Steve pointed at Loki, "I think he has stopped crying."

Thor took a look at his brother. That was true, he wasn't crying. His eyes were shut tightly as if he was in pain. "Brother? What's hurting you?" whispered Thor. Loki, of course, didn't answer but instead he started pushing himself way from Thor.

Thor had to get a firm grip on his brother to avoid him from falling down to the floor, but Loki still tried to wiggle himself free.

Loki began whimpering. His skin felt like it was being peeled off and it felt like he was going to throw up.

"Loki.. Shh shh shhh. Easy brother, you're making yourself sick from all that crying!"

That's when Loki started screaming, as soon as he did, he shot out an energy blast, which shoved Thor and everyone else in the room backwards and broke everything.

Thor got up as fast as he could. The power in the room had gone out and the furniture was ruined. The others got up as well and dusted themselves off. Everyone were shocked.

"What the f*ck?" gaped Tony, "Thor, what the hell happened here?"

Thor didn't answer.. He was speechless! It wasn't even possible for Loki to use magic, when he didn't have his memories. He looked around the room, until his eyes were laid on his brother, who had landed on the floor, a few feet from him. He lay there, sobbing on the ground, "Loki!" whispered Thor, then went for him to pick him up. He put his hands under Loki's armpits and lifted him up from the flooring. As soon as Loki was picked up, the tears started again.

Bruce came to their aid, "Is he okay?" The doctor checked Loki everywhere.

"I- I am not sure" Thor confessed, "He should not be able to use his magic, when he's in such state."

"Likely, he's faking it.." Clint mumbled.

"Well, he seems fine now. It appears to me that he only got startled. Had probably not seen it coming." smiled Bruce, "But wow, he really did a number on us, huh?"

"Aye, I am just as confounded as you."

Tony took a thorough look of the now broken stuff, "Fascinating! He really did all this by himself?" as he turned his attention towards the two Gods.

"My brother's magic is very powerful. He has always been very skilled with illusions, shape-shifting and especially tricks. He has gained all his knowledge over the years by our mother, so it is impossible for him to be using his magic now."

"How so?" questioned Steve.

"If he has forgotten everything from his past, then he should also have forgotten everything he knew about magic, everything he had learned."

Fury was extremely displeased with the God's explanation, he just wanted them out, all of them! Out of his sight, so that he didn't have to deal with this, "You know what, fine! You win. You are all free to go. I don't have patience for this. No matter what I say, you're never gonna listen to me."

"You're serious, Sir?" Steve looked a little worried.

"Yes, but don't you dare leave the helicarrier! I can't defend the Avengers, if you defy my orders."

Tony clapped his hands together, "Great! Finally, you're done treating us like criminals!

 

 

Tony released a breath as he threw himself on the couch, "Man, I thought he'd never let us go!"

Steve stormed into the waiting room they were in, "Do you have any idea what you could've done?"

Holding up his hands, Tony quickly defended himself, "Hey, it didn't go wrong, did it?"

"But you couldn't have known what it would cost! Loki could have been imprisoned right now and we would've been kept under supervision or worst fired!"

"Look, capsicle! They think they've got everything under control, well they don't! SHIELD's taking a nap, while we're doing their dirty work! They don't know half of what's going on out there!"

"And we do?"

Tony let out a frustrated sigh, "Ahh, yes, no! But, what we do have is the opportunity to get to know more!"

"By using Loki?" Tony only sent a stare back, "You can't be serious, Tony! You would manipulative an innocent person, that's been under torture?"

"That's the thing, cap! We're not sure if he is innocent!"

"Maybe. Even if he was in control of himself at that moment. No one deserves what Loki's been through. But he's not at fault anymore. You've seen him, that's not an act."

"Well, it is Loki we're talking about!" Steve gave him a look of disappointment, "Still," Tony groaned as he sat up, "the Loki we have witnessed, would never humiliate himself like that! Not even to his benefit. He's too proud, he would find another way."

Steve sat down as well, "So, do you have a plan?"

Tony thought for a moment, "No, nothing." he got up and Steve's eyes followed him.

"That's it? You've had a discussion with Fury. And you don't even know what to do?"

"Hey," Tony turned around to face the soldier, "Not my job, you're the leader of this team!" 

"You're right. Perhaps it's for the best, to let Captain Rogers make the decisions."

Steve and Tony turned around to see Agent Coulson standing in doorway. They both couldn't believe their own eyes, seeing Phil who stood in his old suit as good as new, as if he had never been gone. Tony, especially, was completely speechless, "Am I going crazy, or am I really seeing someone back from the dead?"

Phil chuckled quietly, "You're not crazy, Stark and I'm not back from the dead, since I was never really gone."

 

 

Thor and Bruce got Loki into a silent room after they've been out to get some air. A security guard stood watch outside the door, but at least they could get some peace and quiet.  
The room itself wasn't very special. The the grey walls and hard flooring made the room simple, but useful. There was no windows and all they had was a bed.

Thor positioned Loki down on the bed, to change his diaper. He took off Loki's pants to remove the worn diaper. He accepted the diaper bag, which Bruce had brought with him and took out the supplies. Thor carefully cleaned Loki down with wipes. He then smeared him with rash cream and sprinkled some baby powder on him. Loki grew more and more tired as his brother promptly changed him.

After a quick, but thoroughly diaper change, Thor fastened the diaper tabs and lifted Loki so he lay conveniently on the bed. Next, he tucked him in as he raised the thin covers over Loki.

"It is time to get some sleep, brother! I will be close. All you have to do is call me and I'll be there, if anything happens. I will keep you safe! Fall asleep, brother!" he said as he kissed Loki on the forehead.  
Thor signaled Bruce to leave as he got up from the bed to follow him.  
Loki fell alseep without any problems, considered it was new place.

 

 

Meanwhile, Clint and Natasha were standing outside, watching as the guards were doing their job.

"I see myself in him!" Clint stared confounded at Natasha as she spoke, "I was once on the wrong side too, you know."

"Natasha, what are you talking about? You're nothing like him! He's a murderer. He has.."

"And I'm not, Barton?" she looked back at him. She knew he didn't have a comeback for that one. Though, he saved her back then, it wouldn't make a change for what she'd done, "I believe, that even Fury's seeing it now."

Clint shook his head, "Fury's too naive, Nat! He's letting himself be manipulated by the others. Am I really the only one who's seeing the truth about Loki?"

Natasha closed her mouth, staring deep into his eyes, "I know that you are blinded by your hatred, Clint! But everyone deserves a second chance, right? That was what you said to me, back then. What's really the big difference between me and him?"

His eyes followed her as she got up and left.

His stared down into the ground, closed his eyes, opened them and sighed. Fine, if no one were going to do something.. Then he would!

 

 

"Can you explain to me how the hell Phil is still alive, Nick?" Stark stormed into the main room, breaking the silence as he marched up to Fury. Rogers and Coulson followed after, trying to keep up with the scientist.

Fury stood tall with his hands behind his back as his eyes switched between looking at Tony and Phil, "Well, since I see that you've already have found out, I might as well tell you the truth."

"That would be wonderful!" Tony barked sarcastically, "Cause I don't think it's very cool, Fury! Lying to us all about a friend being dead.. What were you thinking?"

"We. Were. At. War." Fury barked back, "And the only thing you could think about were yourselves. I had to do something to open those eyes of yours, to make you see the truth."

"So, that gives you the right to lie to us? When.." Tony took a deep breath, "Would you even have told us the truth?"

"I would! But your reaction is just as I expected, Stark!"

Phil stepped forward, "It was my idea. I suggested it myself."

"You, zip it! I am very disappointed in you, mister!" Tony pointed at Phil, then stormed out of the room.

After giving Nick one last glance, Steve trailed after him.

"Stark, wait a minute." as he kept up with Tony, "Look, I know you're angry with them, but I actually believe they had a point!"

"Yeah of course, they had every right to lie, just to make us fight their battle for them. When was the last time you saw Fury do anything himself?"

Steve kept quiet. He didn't know what to answer for that. He looked up and noticed that they had ended up in a room where Natasha sat with a cup of coffee. Tony stood by the coffee maker and poured himself a one.

Natasha casually took a sip, "So you found out, huh?"

Tony turned and looked disbelievingly at her, "So you knew too?" When she didn't answer, he went on, "Well, that's just fantastic! Everyone's keeping important secrets to themselves and forget to inform us about it. Then it's really hard to be a team, you know!"

Just then, Bruce and Thor chose to enter the room and join the others. They looked at their teammates and noticed the gloom between them, "Uhm, did we miss something?" Bruce asked.

Tony crossed his arms, "Sure you did! Phil's alive, Fury refused to tell us and Natasha here, already knew!"

"Son of Coulson is alive?" Thor repeated. That could not be true! He saw him die right before his own eyes! Loki killed him or so Thor thought.

"You can bet that he's alive! But ohh, Fury had it all planned. He needed us. So he made up an excuse, so that we would be his little puppets."

Bruce ran his hand through his hair as he sat down. This was all too much information at once, "So where are everyone now?"

"Phil's in the main room, Fury can go fuck himself and, I don't know about Clint."

"He told me that he needed to do something important." answered Natasha, taking another sip.

That sentence caught Steve's attention, that did not sound good, not with Barton's behavior lately, "So, Barton is wandering around alone?"

"That would be correct."

He then looked at Banner and Thor, "And where's Loki?"

Thor, having no clue of what Steve referred to, answered softly, "He's sleeping in a room down the hall."

Finally taking the hint, Bruce turned to Steve, his brows furrowed, "You don't think..?"

Steve inhaled, "Yes! He's definitely looking for him!"

For a second, they just stared at each other in silence, then everyone, even Natasha, hurried out of the room and ran to the room Loki was.

"Loki!!" rumbled Thor as he swung the door open. The bed was empty, "No!" He looked around, searching every corner of the room, but Loki was nowhere to be found. "I shouldn't have left him! What was I thinking! This is my fault."

"No, Thor!" Bruce stepped towards him, "Loki's my responsibility as well. You couldn't have known!"

"There might still be hope!" Tony went into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "JARVIS, please locate Barton's position."

Steve lifted an eyebrow, before hearing the well-known voice of Tony's computer system, "On it, Sir." They all looked up towards the ceiling and Steve was the first to ask, "You made JARVIS hack into SHIELD's system?"

Tony just looked dumbfounded at him, "Of course I did! I knew something was up with Fury, SHIELD, everything! So I decided to take matters into my own hands.. I wasn't really that hard you know." He grinned, "All I had to do, the first time we were on the helicarrier, was to take a USB cable to get all their informatio.."

"Okay okay! Nevermind, we don't have any time! Found him yet?"

"Killjoy.. JARVIS, got anything?" said Tony, proudly as he smirked in triumph.

"It seems that Mr. Barton is leaving the aircraft as we speak."

"Ahh, I see.. What? Does he have Loki with him?"

"Yes, Sir."

Bruce went closer and took the phone from Tony. True enough, Clint was outside, "JARVIS, what is he leaving in?"

"It appears that Mr. Barton has taken a quinjet, Dr. Banner."

"Okay! Okay, he has just taken off. If we hurry, we can still.." Bruce turned to face Thor, only to the God gone, "Great.. We better move." he said to the others and went off, followed by Tony and Steve.

Steve stopped up, when he realized Natasha didn't follow them. He turned to her and saw her stare into space, "Aren't you coming?"

Even in deep thoughts, she looked at him, "I feel like this is my fault! I-I had a talk with him and I thought that I was getting through to him. I even mentioned the old me. Guess it didn't work.. I should've known."

"Hey, hey!" Steve laid his hand on Nastasha's shoulder and gave it a soft shake, "You are not to blame! Natasha!" She lifted her head and breathed out, "It's Clint who has taken Loki. It's him who's blinded by hatred! And right now, we have to deal with him!"

 

 

Thunder was in the background, rumbling in the sky. It was already dark, so it was hard to control the jet, when there was a storm coming, "Damn.." Clint mumbled, "I Guess your big brother has already found out that you're gone." he spoke up.

Another loud rumble could be heard. Loki whimpered and was close to crying. Clint glanced behind him as Loki's cries only got louder, "Shit!" He couldn't handle this he said as he turned autopilot on. He turned to grab Loki around the neck as he pushed down, "Listen here you son of a bitch, you either shut the fuck up or I will throw you out faster than you can say 'screw this' and let's only hope that Thor will not be there to catch you." He lifted Loki a little to push him back down. Loki came with a tiny cry when he landed on the floor, but otherwise he kept quiet.  
Clint stood tall over Loki, "Good!" 

As he was on his way back to the front seat, a lighting struck down and hit the back part of the jet, "Ugh." came it from Clint, when he was thrown into the side of the jet. He quickly recovered, hurried to the front to take over the steering. He tried to get a soft landing as much as possible! Not that it mattered. They were going to crash anyway..

 

 

"What the hell? What was that stupid idiot thinking? Why couldn't Clint just leave him alone? I don't get him!"

"Relax Tony! Thor's looking for them!"

"Don't you tell me to relax, old man! Thor's as big an idiot as Clint! And the thunder.." Tony stopped pacing back and forth, pointing out the window. "Not helping!"

"God, I really hope Loki's okay!" Bruce muttered.

"He better be! Or Barton's not gonna like, what's coming for him."

"Tony, you do remember he's still part of the team, right?"

"I don't care, Capsicle. If he considered himself part of the team, he wouldn't run off and pull a stunt like that! God, I'm pissed!" Tony groaned, loudly.

"Maybe Tony's right." Bruce exhaled, "We haven't been much of a team lately.."

"Guys, I understand how you're feeling, but.."

They heard a really close thunder rumble and thought that Thor must have come back. Just as they were getting ready to check it out, Thor walked furious into the room.

"You didn't find him?" Steve asked concerned, his eyes following Thor's figure until the God stood in front of a table and smashed it with his hammer. Thinking he would give his friend some space, Steve didn't say anymore, not before he heard him -

"I couldn't protect him.. I promised our mother that I would keep him safe and I've failed!" Roaring the last word, he smashed his hammer down into the floor.

"May I remind you Thor, that the helicarrier belongs to the government."

Thor scanned the room to find the new, but recognizable, voice to find Phil Coulson at the door with Natasha standing behind him, "Agent Coulson! Except the terrible circumstances, it is good to see you well!"

Phil smiled with sympathy, "You too, Thor. I only came to give you some news."

That got all's attention. 

Tony ran up to him, "I hope for a certain person, that it's good news!"

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'good' news. But we have located the jet! It's crashed down on land!" He managed to finish to sentence, but when Thor walked past him, saying he would check it out, Phil added, "Thor! I don't think that's a good idea."

He didn't stop, but argued, "I'll go get my brother!"

Natasha tried to reason with the God, "Thor, I don't believe that an angry brother is what Loki needs right now."

"You all speak lies!" Thor barked, "You do not show concern for my brother! You the only one you are worried about is Barton!"

Despite the truth, Natasha kept her cool, "You are right, Thor. I am worried about him. But I'm also worried about Loki. But you know I'm right. I would be for the better if you stay here and wait for them to be back. SHIELD will sent some agents out to look for them. Everything will be alright. You just have to trust me, okay?"

Thor inhaled as he tried not to smash everyone who would stand in his way to get to his brother. He couldn't stand there and do nothing, when Loki needed him. Not knowing if he was alright or not was the worst feeling, "I will put my trust in you, Lady Romanoff! But should you not find him, I will go looking myself."

 

 

Everything was pitch black. The only thing he could see were some flickering wires that were cut off.  
Trying to get up, Clint moaned when one of his legs tried to support him. Damn, what happened? It was all a little blurred when he tried to remember. A whimper. Was that him? No, it wasn't.. But who?

Suddenly, everything came back. He had 'kidnapped' Loki. LOKI! That son of a.. Where was he?  
He took his phone from his pocket, used the light to see, when his eyes fell on a body on the flooring. He grunted, threw the phone away and grabbed Loki. Half carrying, half dragging him, they managed to get out of the quinjet, alive.

"I wish you could walk by yourself." He kept drag-carrying the God, "What should I do with you? I don't really have a plan, since it was only me." 

He lifted Loki's weight a little, making him whimper, again, "Tsh!" Clint's tongue clicked as smashed Loki against a tree, "Who do you think you're up against? You may have fooled the others, but you ain't gonna fool me!" Clint sneered, when Loki only began crying, "You. Are. Weak! You don't deserve anyone.." he stopped in his thoughts, "Maybe I should just leave you here then. What do you have to say about that?"

"...."

When Clint's question was welcomed with more silence, he grabbed the front of Loki's clothes, "You know what? It's not gonna be that much fun, if you just welcome what's coming for you! ADMIT IT! You deserve everything bad that's gonna happen to you!" he shouted into the God's face.

Suddenly there was the sound of some kind of vehicle.

"Shit!" Clint muttered and covered Loki's mouth with his hand, "I wear, if you say anything I will kill you here and now." He lowered himself as he sunk in with the darkness. It was now quiet, until he could hear footsteps. They couldn't have found him already. Unless, it was Thor of course! Or Tony in his Iron suit. God, he really wished it was Tony. Rather him, than the angry Thunder God whose little brother he had taken.

But it kept coming closer and now Clint was barely breathing.

 

Soon after two creatures stepped in front of his eyesight. Wait, those were the same beings from Loki's alien army. Great! He was outnumbered. What should he do? Could he do anything?

There they were, poiting at him with their weapons, when they spoke. He couldn't understand a word of what they said. He got up quietly, ready to fight if he needed to.

"It would be wise of you to hand over the runt." a voice said.

Clint stared ahead of him. A figure stepped forwards from behind the creatures. Not quite the same as the two others, this one had some kind of hood over it's head, which covered it's eyes.  
For one second, Clint had forgotten that Loki was there with them. It wasn't until he thought twice about the word 'runt'. Hand Loki over.. That's it! This was his opportunity of getting rid of this criminal. Hopefully for good.

Clint scoffed, "I have no interests in keeping this scumbag. 

"Mhhmm." a satisfying sound came from the alien with the hood.

Clint just kept going, "You're part of the Chitauri, right? I'm Clint Barton. Also known as 'Hawkeye'. I'm part of the Avengers and our duty is to protect the Earth and the people who lives here. You can have him, if you promise me this: you take him, you leave Earth and none of you ever come back." he breathed in, "Do we have a deal?"

It sort of hissed, when it heard his request, then Clint pulled Loki up by the arm, "You wanted him, right?"

A hoarse sound came from the alien, "We can promise your peace, Midgardian." as it nodded.

"Good! Well, here you go!" Clint said as he threw Loki down into the ground, so he landed in front of aliens with a huff.

The two aliens with the weapons each took Loki's arms and raised him from the ground.

The hooded alien looked at Clint, "There is one last thing, Midgardian." it said with a growling sound.

Before Clint had a chance to answer, another alien from the Chitauri stood beside him, grabbed around his neck and hoisted him up.

'Another one? There was four? I didn't even notice!!" he thought to himself and he struggled to breathe.

The hooded one came close, "The greatest and most powerful being will not take orders from a pathetic bug." It turned it's back against him and said, "Take them to our Him."

It was the last thing Clint heard before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh! What's gonna happen next!


	7. So It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint did the right thing..! Don't you think?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET THIS BE A TRIGGER WARNING!!! (Read the tags again)  
> Probably not that bad or anything, but I don't know who's reading this!  
> Also, I haven't been double checking this chapter for any mistakes, yet! So please, don't kill me!

When he once again gained conscious, he found himself sitting against a wall, in a dark empty room like cell. No windows, no furnitures.. No nothing.  
A few meters away from him, lay Loki. Clint got up and walked towards him, but after a few steps, he couldn't walk any further. A rattling sound made him look down at himself and sure enough, his hands and feet were chained to the wall. By pulling the chains, he tried to free himself. Unluckily with no use.  
Right after, he heard the door open and in came the same creature from before along with some guards who carried some buckets of boiling hot water. He stared at Clint for a second, "A shame that you already have gained consciousness.." before looking down at the still unconscious god, "Guess we only have to wake him."  
The alien nodded at one of the guards and the guard walked up to him. After an approving glance from what was looking like the leader of them, the guard poured his bucket over Loki.

A startled, pain filled scream could be heard loud in the room, the bucket was empty soon enough, but over came the other guard and emptied his.  
The Other only stared down at the Asgardian, "Awake now?" Loki cried out the pain, then looked up at them. After a little break the Other continued, "He wants to see you."  
Loki was pulled up in both arms by the guards and led out of their cell. 

Clint was now alone. He stared speechless at that spot where the god lay just a minute ago. What the hell? That didn't just happen, right? Weren't they like allies with Loki? God, that was.. That was just sick! Fuck, he needed to get out of here!

 

 

Thrown to the floor, Loki now lay at Thanos' feet. He didn't have to look up.. Loki knew where he was. Whimpering, he pressed himself against the floor, trying to make himself as small as possible. The first thing he heard was a deep, dark chuckle, "Missed me that much?" It sounded harmless question, but Loki knew that it wasn't something to be answered. Not that he couldn't anyway. He understood, though. It was a survival instinct. But his brain wouldn't cooperate. Many thoughts were going through his mind. He just wanted to be wrapped up in those big, strong arms. Holding him. Keeping him safe. But they were gone.. Gosh, he didn't want to forget! Not again. Though, he would always end up here! That was okay. When only he got the break, he could take it. Safe, never meant safe forever.

He heard the Titan rise from his Throne, now getting close, "What are you again, pet?"

Loki breathed out, in, out again. Thanos groaned, grabbing a handful of the God's hair, then bend down to look directly into Loki's eyes, "What are you?"

Still no answer. The Titan sighed and let go, causing Loki to lay back on the ground. He glared at his guards, who knew what they had to do. They stepped forward, one took one of Loki's arms, the other held him down. The first guard began to bent the straight arm backwards, causing Loki to scream. The Mad Titan grinned cruelly at him.

"Ahh-auo, noo." his cries were unclear, like a 2 year old trying to speak for the first time.

 

 

The guard kept bending Loki's arm more and more backwards. He struggled to get loose, until.. 

'CRACK'.

His arm were broken.

He screamed his lungs out as they released him. Loki's face was immediately covered with snot and tears. His body and screams became weak and he could only stare into those shiny blue, but scary and cold eyes, "Take him back to his cell."

 

 

Clint fumbled to unlock the chains with a gadget he'd hidden in his boot. He hadn't been an assassin for so many years for no reason. If he couldn't break loose of those chains, everything would've been for nothing. Not to mention the scornful expression in Natasha's face.

The door opening, pulled him out of his thoughts. He hid the tool behind his back as he watched the aliens stand in the doorway to roughly throw Loki into the room, then closed the door again.

Clint nearly held his breath as he gawked at Loki's drained, almost lifeless body, "Loki?"  
When his ears caught no response, he tried again to unlock the chains. He twisted and turned the object and after an amount of time, he got the first lock open.  
Soon he was free from all four of them, Clint ran to him, "Hey! You alright?" but as soon as he touched him, Loki cried up and curled himself into a ball, "Jesus, I'm sorry! Okay? Is that what you wanna hear? Look, I didn't know.. If I had known I would never..!" he'd scanned Loki's body for injuries, when he saw his arm, "Your arm.." he whispered, "Shit! Oh fuck! Those bastards are just sick. Okay, I'm gonna.. I'll!" he looked around, wondering what the hell to do..  
"I need to put your arm back into place.." he took the broken arm in his hands, as he breathed in, "You pretty sure know already, but this is gonna hurt like one son of a bitch!" he breathed out as he began pressing, "Okay.. Okay, ready?" he looked at Loki, though the question was directed to himself. Loki was bawling my eyes out, but Clint had no other choice than to press until he heard a 'snap'.

He let go as soon as Loki's arm was popped back in, he exhaled, sat down and eyed the ceiling, "Damn, that crossed my boundaries! What the.. What else are they gonna do to you, huh? What HAVE they done to you??"

Loki just lay there and cried. Cried until there weren't any tears left. It made Clint sick to his stomach! He grabbed his shoulders and shook him a bit, "Loki, c'mon!" he shouted in his face, "Get yourself together! I am useless, Loki.. You've got your magic, right? You can get us out." when he realized he wasn't getting anywhere with him, Clint raised his voice once again, "Dammit Loki! You don't want to see Thor again? Thor!? The one who would do anything to keep his little brother - no matter what! Don't you wanna get back to your brother? Unless you like it here?! Sure.. Oh, why not? I can tell that those monsters enjoy their time with you.. Pull your shit together." he let go and shoved himself into the wall. He was so close to a break down, so close to tears. He angrily ran a hand over his face, "I'm counting on you, you know. I know everything's my fault!" he gritted his teeth, "But you're our only hope.. So, Loki! Please.." he was out of breath, only with a small voice left. What if he never got to see the others again.. His wife? His.. children...

"Brr-or.." He heard a heartbroken sob, "Brrr... ooot." he lifted his head a little to have a look, "Broooth.." another sob, "broooth.. er..." another one, "Brr-ooth-err.." and another one again.

Regret and sorrow were filled in Clint's eyes when he realised what the God was trying to say. Finally speaking - Loki still layed on the flooring, crying openly for the only person he needed right now! His brother! Who was not there..

Clint swallowed a big lump in his throat, "I am so sorry, Loki..!" he whispered out to the dark, cold silence.

 

 

 

 

"How long can it take for you to find an ordinary man carrying around a space God?" Tony sat down on a chair, only to get back up right away, while he ran his hand through his hair. He couldn't stop thinking about Clint and where he had taken Loki. What kind of idiot pulls a stunt like that. He could really use a drink right now.

Fury sighed, feeling tiresome from answering the same question over and over again, "I'm doing everything in power to find them, Stark. They're nowhere to be found."

Tony turned to the leader of SHIELD, "I would call that bullshit! You probably had this whole thing planned all along! It would make the perfect opportunity to get your hands on Loki! Am I right? I'm right, right?"  
The rest of the team sighed as well. Yes, they understood Tony's frustration perfectly well. But it wasn't the right time to work against each other, "And where the hell is Thor now?"

"He said he would ask Heimdall for help." Steve seemed to be in deep thought, when he had answered Tony. Not trying to hide it, but he as well as the others was very concered for Loki. Why were they nowhere to be found? Where could he be?

"Uhh, great.. And what would he be able to do again?" Right now, Tony was actually really just being annoying, as Steve sighed once again, he was getting ready to answer that question, once again, "He's the gatekeeper in Asgard! He should be able to see Loki and where he is."  
Should be able to.. If he really could see him, then wouldn't Thor have been back already? Steve was beginning to have his doubts. After every time another minute went by, it felt like they were wasting time. He didn't know why though, but something was definitely wrong here!

Natasha went to sit with Steve. First, they didn't say a thing to one another, but then she said what Steve thought had been on her mind for a while, "I didn't realize he would go this far."

Taking one glance at her expression, Steve could tell she was feeling guilty. Though, he didn't know why.. Clint's doing wasn't her fault, "You mustn't blame yourself! It's all.."

"No." she interrupted, holding eye contact with Steve for a couple of seconds, before she continued, "We had a conversation before he took off. I said that I saw myself in Loki. Which wasn't a lie, but I don't think he was ready for the truth."

Steve raised an eyebrow, seeming quite confused, "What do you mean by that?" Could Clint also see the similarities?

Tasha stretched her back before answering, "I believe Clint knows what he's doing is wrong. He just can't seem to accept it because - he knows what it feels like to choose the wrong path."

"Was that before SHIELD?" Steve dared to ask. The worst thing that could happen was a 'I don't wanna talk about that." That didn't come though, she just stared into space. Steve was sure that she would've answered if it wasn't for the door that was slammed open and in came Thor.

Tony, of course, was the first one to react. He almost roared as he ran up to him, "So any news? Please tell me they are good.. I don't think I can take it if they're bad news! Actually I think I'll have a heart attack if that happens.." Despite wanting to keep talking so he didn't have to hear the bad news, which Tony figured they were - Thor's face gave it all up. He kept quiet.

"Heimdall.. couldn't see him." They were all now focused on the God of Thunder. Steve, Tony, Nastasha, Bruce - Everyone looked shocked, "I even asked for my mother's help. She couldn't find him either. She believes that either Loki's hiding himself, he's somewhere she can't reach him or his magic isn't strong enough. Although that shouldn't be the case, since you all saw how strong he were before he was.. taken. I'm not a master with magic and it's abilities, so I could be wrong."

Bruce laid his hand on Thor's shoulder and gave him a gentle smile, "We'll get him back, Thor! Don't worry."

"Man, when I get my hands on Barton, I'll.."

Steve snorted at that, "You'll what, Tony?"

"I'll give him a taste of his own medicine.."

"Absolutely not!" groaned Bruce. Though, somewhere deep down Bruce wanted to have an explanation, then a talk with the common agent. The other guy deep within him sure was pissed right now, "No matter what he's done, he's still part of the team! And all of us are friends, remember?"

Tony laughed bitterly as he gave Bruce a clap on the back, "Of course, of course, Brucie! I'm just gonna make sure things are coming for him!"

"Sir!" in walked Agent Hill as Fury and the others turned to her, "We have found the jet agent Barton fled in."

 

 

 

 

Clint woke up to another pierced scream. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Loki laying on the ground at the aliens' feet. He could tell by the soaked Loki and the now empty buckets in the hands of the guards, that more boiling water had been poured over Loki.  
But this time he couldn't just sit there and watch, "Hey! What the fuck is wrong you?"

Without answering the guards lifted Loki up from the ground and pulled him outside. Once again. The 'leader' of them stayed where he were though. At first Clint thought he was just gonna stand and stare at him. Then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, he stood before him. Clint didn't get any chance to react before his jaw was grabbed harshly, "If I were you, I would promptly know my place, mortal!" it hissed. The next thing he knew, he was alone in the darkness yet again.

 

 

"My patience is wearing thin! It would be very unwise to test your luck, my pet! This risky behavior will not be tolerated for much longer."  
Loki could only lay there and listen to everything the Mad Titan had to say. Listen, but not fully understand. He could feel the ice-cold eyes burn through his flesh and bone. Investigating. Studying him, standing right above Loki, "I see your arm's much better! That's good.." Thanos purred, "You must take care of yourself, so the bone will grow the right place.." then took a step and carelessly pressed his foot against the God's broken arm.

Begging screams hoped that the Titan would show some mercy, but no! He only pushed harder down onto Loki's arm, until he got bored. Without moving his foot, Thanos bent over a little, "What are you?"  
Groaning, Thanos removed his foot from Loki's arm and on to his head and stepped down hard, "What. Are. You?" Not waiting any longer for an answer, he grabbed the God's shirt and ripped it apart, leaving Loki's back bare, "You know what to do." he roared at the Other.

Loki didn't know what was about to happen, when he once again was held down by the guards, until he felt a sharp feeling, that cut him across the back. He immediately broke into tears as the Other continued cutting into his skin. Trying not to scream, because of a sore throat, Loki bit down hard on his tongue, until the taste of blood filled his mouth.

He couldn't take anymore. He just wanted peace. He wanted his.. The warm embrace and the softly-spoken words, not the scary, but the comforting ones. Calming him with that familiar voice! But he couldn't hear it anymore.. He would never be safe!

New cuts were now made on old wounds. He couldn't stay strong any longer, "Ahhh!" he allowed himself to scream himself hoarse, "Nooo..." gasping for air now, "Ahh.. Noo-boood-ahhh!" Make the words clear! That will make the pain go away! Say it, "Noaaoo-booadyy-iiih.."

Thanos signaled for the tormentors to stop. Loki only got a few seconds break, before the Titan stand before him, "What was that?" Loki closed his eyes, gulped another mouthful of blood, before repeating, "Noohh..baauuddyy.." He was only given an unpleasant, teasing smirk in return, "Mhmm?" Choking in his own drool, Loki had trouble breathing. Even about to pass out.. "Noh-booordy.. Nohh-boodyyy.. Noooooh..baardy.." he kept repeated to himself, not even sure if the Titan was listening or not.. He just wanted the pain to go away! "Mhhm, that is correct, my pet!" then that disturbing smirk, turned into a grin, "You are Nobody. Unloved.. Feared.. Hated.. Not cared for by anyone. No family, no friends.. No nothing! There is no reason to keep trying, pet!" Loki stared up into his eyes as he whimpered, "What? You want the pain to stop, right?"  
He gave half a nod, followed by an exhausted sigh, "You know what to say, my pet!"

Loki lowered his head until his forehead touched the cold flooring. He knew, he didn't have to understand to know.. It's in his training, in his bones.. And he will never forget, "Mmm-ma..M-ahhs.. Marsh-terr.. Masst-rrr, Masstterr!"

Yes! His little, loyal pet was back to reality! Only second time he had broken him and he'd already made an impressive record. He turned towards his throne, "Bring him back to his cell."

 

 

 

 

 

Loki had really been away for a long time. He was okay, right? He had to be okay! Or else he would.. Crap, he really hoped that Loki was okay! 

 

Come on.. Come on, come on, come on! If he ever would got out of here, he would become mad before that ever happened..

 

"HELLO!!! Anyone there?? Heey!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.  
Goddammit.. What was the point of keeping him here? Would they switch Loki out with him, if they ever got bored of him? Was he supposed to rotten up in here.. Damn, "Heey!!!"

 

The door was opening, that was something he thought he'd never get to see any time soon! Hallelujah! And.. of course in came the aliens and threw Loki to the floor, before closing the door again. Well, atleast he wasn't alone anymore?

 

He sat down beside Loki, "Hey.. You're okay?" a loud gasp escaped his mouth. Oh. Mother. Fuck!  
Loki's back was gushing red with blood. Those long, deep, dark wounds were horrifying, "Loki! What the hell happened out there?? What kind of monsters would do this..?" He ran his hands through his hair.. "Uhh, I think I'm gonna be sick! This is terrible! I don't- I don't think I can do something about this. Not this time.." then he noticed that Loki hadn't given any sound from him. Not a single cry, a whimper, a scream.. He just stared at him, tears streaming from his eyes, "We.. argh, umm.. We need to get out of here! I need to get you out of here, okay? Loki?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't want to update too soon, but I didn't want you guys to wait either.. So I hope this chapter's okay!? It's on purpose that the chapter isn't rushed.. So sorry if it felt a little boring? I just want this to be deep too also, ya know.


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